New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- It's a dilemma that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wouldn't mind being caught in. The economy's growth path seems to be on a steady incline with inflation well under control. So, it can choose to focus on either without having to worry about compromising the other.

Ultimately, its policy-rate decision on Wednesday will go by its outlook on relative deviations from an ideal scenario. A wait-and-watch posture would enable it to respond more confidently later, once it has greater clarity on where price levels and GDP growth are headed.

On the other hand, we can't rule out a quarter-percentage-point rate cut, should RBI decide to act pre-emptively in support of economic expansion before the blow dealt by US tariffs t...