New Delhi, July 23 -- Inflation is under control, and we can assume that we have won the war.growth is good, but there is still room for improvement." That was central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra in June after cutting the repo rate-the rate at which the central bank lends to banks-by 0.50 percentage point.

It was unexpected. It was big. It marked the culmination of the battle against inflation that started in April 2022 and was intended to increase lending in the economy.

It was a continuation of a process the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under Malhotra, began this February. The RBI infused massive liquidity into the system and effected a series of rate cuts, signalling lower interest rates. This should have been the start of a new, l...