THE Indian economy has been at tipping point for some time now, poised to enter a period characterised by slow growth and high inflation. The government's decision to hike the prices of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) could well be the final push. In the government's view the hike was inevitable, given the sharp increase in the international prices of crude and India's dependence on imports to meet much of its consumption. If the hike came only when it did, it was because electoral compulsions and the opposition forced the government to hold back.