New Delhi, May 18 -- India's central bank has quietly become a key pillar of macroeconomic stability. It is not just a monetary authority, but increasingly playing a role as a fiscal shock absorber. This deserves appreciation and caution.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has managed an extraordinarily hard decade. It navigated demonetization, the IL&FS collapse, covid, global supply-chain disruptions, volatile oil prices, geopolitical shocks and sharp capital-flow swings. India avoided a banking collapse, runaway inflation and sovereign instability. That is no small achievement.

RBI has also been far more restrained than many advanced-economy central banks in expanding its balance sheet. After the Global Financial Crisis and the pandemic...