Modi govt could've done a lot more when crude prices were favourable

In the first four years of this government, the sun was shining on India's petroleum economy

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining, said John F Kennedy in 1962. What the US President had said then to strengthen the American economy would have been equally appropriate for India’s petroleum sector in 2014. Today, the Narendra Modi government should be regretting that it largely ignored that time-honoured advice in the last four years and will be paying the price in the fifth year of its tenure, even as the petroleum sector produces strong headwinds for the Indian economy.

 From the middle of 2014, coinciding almost with the commencement of the Modi government’s