India, March 6 -- Almost six years ago, in April 2020, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic's global onset, crude oil prices in the US turned negative because buyers were unwilling to lift stock from existing inventories. A widespread global lockdown had killed large parts of energy demand worldwide. Two years later, when the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, and many European countries imposed sanctions on Russian energy supplies, crude oil jumped above the psychological threshold of $100/barrel. This was a typical supply shock to energy markets. Europe is still reeling from the aftermath of the war inflation that erupted back then.

India was relatively cushioned from these energy market disruptions. The exchequer made a windfal...