Slandering Arjuna.

On 9 June, "Amid uncertainties, there is a need to maintain 'Arjuna's eye' on the evolving inflation scenario and the RBI's goal is to achieve the target of 4%, governor Shaktikanta Das said in his monetary policy statement." ET. The story of a test of archery in the Mahabharata, in which the teacher Dronacharya asks each prince to target the eye of a bird made of clay set on a branch of a tree. Every prince could see the surroundings of the target, except Arjuna, who could see only the eye of the bird and nothing else. BK. The story is not just about absolute concentration on the target but also how Arjuna is the only one whose arrow pierces the bird's eye. However, since June the rate of consumer price index (CPI) inflation has been way above (RI) the RBI's mandated target of 4% (ET), but RBI's arrows have stayed stubbornly in the quiver as it has kept its interest rate unchanged for four successive times over 8 months (HT). So Das has suddenly shifted to another story in which Arjuna pierces the eye of a fish rotating overhead while looking down at its reflection in a bowl of water. bnn. Apparently, this story is meant to illustrate that Arjuna had to take the movement of the fish into account before releasing his arrow. Actually, the story is about how Arjuna succeeds in hitting his target and not about persistent inaction. Perhaps, it would help if Das concentrates on his mandate and not try to bluff us with stories. "After warning the banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now slammed the brakes on the unbridled growth in consumer loans that lately expanded faster than less risky assets, directing banks to set aside more capital and establish board-monitored processes on such loans to prevent risk escalation in the financial system." ET. "Both personal loans and credit card receivables are unsecured loans, in the sense that there is no underlying assets against which the borrowing has been carried out, like the case with a housing loan, where the lending is carried out against the house which is being bought against the loan. In case of a default, the house can be sold and the bank can recover the outstanding loan amount. Such facility does not exist in case of unsecured personal loan," wrote Vivek Kaul. Interestingly, personal loans grew faster after the RBI started increasing interest rates from May 2022. "But signs of incipient risk have been lurking in plain sight. It has long been suspected that a large chink of this money has been used for speculative trades in the equity derivatives market." "Total turnover in the equity derivatives market jumped 70% between January and September 2023. Options trading in shares, specifically, has jumped 51% during this period." "This is not the first time that authorities have become conscious, just before elections, of elevated risks spilling from one market to another," wrote Rajrishi Singhal. All actions to help the party in power, people be damned. Slandering Arjuna for support. Sacrilege.