Let Rupee Fall & Petrol Prices Rise To Fix India’s Economy: 16th Finance Chief Arvind Panagariya!

In an exclusive interview with India Today’s Mariya Shakil, 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya analyzed India’s current economic pressures amid the West Asia crisis. Addressing a sharp 8.3% WPI surge, Panagariya urged caution, noting its weak correlation with consumer inflation. While defending Prime Minister Modi's voluntary austerity calls as a valid first-line defense, he criticized selective tariff hikes on gold, silver, and platinum findings, warning they risk fuelling informal smuggling rings. Instead, Panagariya advocated for market-driven mechanisms—allowing the rupee to depreciate and local petrol prices to rise—to effectively bridge the widening current account deficit.