New Delhi, May 6 -- In recent months, a palpable sense of concern has begun to ripple through investors. Inflationary pressures-once dismissed as a transitory aftershock of global recovery-now risk becoming entrenched.

The drivers form a difficult triad: destruction of energy infrastructure in West Asia leading to volatile oil and gas prices, persistent supply chain constraints, and a domestic agricultural squeeze triggered by a lower-than-anticipated monsoon and record-high fertilizer costs.

The RBI's decision to raise the inflation forecast for FY27 to 4.6%-up from an earlier target of 4%-signals that these fears are grounded in reality. More concerning is the simultaneous downgrade of growth forecasts from 7.6% to 6.9%.

This is the ...