Indians are the most deceived people on the planet. Politicians are professionals liars. Most journalists are free loaders and our " economists " sit of boards of various companies and so have a vested interest in hiding the truth. In today's papers we are given a liberal dose of such lies. Apparently 67% of CEOs of companies feel that growth will be cut to 7.5% because of high interest rates. They would like to see the RBI start to reduce rates even though inflation continues to be above 10% and is hurting consumer spending. It is possible that they are more worried that if interest rates continue to remain high property prices may crash and since their black money is in property they want the RBI to reduce rates. Another news item blames the euro zone for the fall in the value of the rupee. Apparently foreign funds are selling Indian stocks and moving into the safe haven of the dollar because of the anxiety over the euro. No attempt is made to explain how the Yen, pound sterling and other east Asian currencies continue to remain strong. The truth may be that the government has lost control over spending and, consequently, fiscal deficit. Uncontrolled inflation means a continuous fall in the purchasing power of the rupee which, in turn, raises cost of imports like oil and leads to further inflation. Instead of cutting spending the Congress is desperately trying to bribe different sections of the electorate so as not to be routed in next year's state elections. Rs 5.5 billion plus Rs 6.92 billion is to be spent on building two stretches of highways in Rae Bareli which is Ms Gandhi's constituency. Wonder if there will be cut throat tolls on these roads?