New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- As inflation rises, equity markets stagnate and the rupee weakens, households face growing pressure on their finances. In a conversation with Mint, market veteran Shankar Sharma, founder of GQuant Investech, offers a sharply contrarian perspective on the RBI's defence of the rupee and the outlook for equity markets. His views on SIPs and household savings also challenge conventional investment wisdom.

Here is his candid take.

This inflation reading was expected, even inevitable, for two reasons: the persistent weakness of the Indian rupee over the past two years and the near-doubling of energy prices since the West Asia war began in March. India somehow managed to keep inflation low before the war. But with oil pri...