The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India, Nov. 5 on rising oil prices:

The saga of increasing global oil prices does not seem to end, and the government, with its quaint mix of hope and ostrich-like optimism, is finally veering around to the view that something must be done to harmonize domestic petroleum prices with international levels that are far higher. With the benchmark price of crude nearing the $100-per-barrel mark, it is no longer a question of if, but of when and how the financial burden of subsidized petroleum products would be passed on. The current formula of splitting the burden between oil companies and the government (which issues bonds to the firms) is a shaky one.

Consumer prices are at levels well above wholesale prices and inflation would become a key talking point if the numbers look bad when Gujarat holds its assembly elections. … A 12 percent rise in the rupee against the U.S. dollar this year, and a general surge in economic growth and tax collections, do allow the government some elbow room, but surely, fiscal profligacy is not what the doctor ordered for an economy aspiring to superpower status. Perhaps the best course for the government would be to sell the idea that Indians must learn to live with higher oil prices and psychologically prepare them for the sting that must come sooner or later.