Mumbai, June 3 -- The government is already supporting the economy amid the ongoing West Asia crisis by not allowing the full impact of rising global oil prices to be passed on to consumers, according to Gita Gopinath, former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Gopinath said the limited increase in retail fuel prices by the Indian government, despite a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, has effectively acted as an implicit subsidy for households and businesses.

"The government is already to some extent supporting the economy because it has not let prices at the fuel pump go up by as much as one would expect it to given how much world oil prices have risen," sh...