India, May 12 -- The West Asia crisis has once again exposed the central vulnerability of India's energy economy: it is still dependent on a narrow and fragile supply corridor, and the Strait of Hormuz remains its biggest strategic choke point.

When that route is disrupted, India does not merely face a supply problem. It faces a fiscal problem, an inflation problem, and a policy problem all at once.

For the moment, the government has chosen to absorb the shock rather than pass it on to consumers. That has prevented panic and preserved supply stability. But it has also pushed the cost of the crisis into the public balance sheet, where it is beginning to crowd out other priorities. This is why the current fuel pricing strategy deserves a ...