The United States and Israel’s war on Iran and the resultant spike in prices of crude oil and other products critical to the smooth functioning of the global economy have made inflation the main worry for policymakers across the world. Between June 3 and 5, the Monetary Policy Committee of India’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will deliberate on this matter. For its part, the Union government has as yet shielded average consumers in India from the full effect of the rise in international prices. But while policymakers are focussed on containing the inflation rate, average consumers in India focus more on affordability. The notion is best captured in the worries of several consumers, who bemoan that “once prices go up, they never come down”. In other words, consumers are often more worried about the cumulative effect of past price increases on their household budgets and overall affordability than just the inflation rate in a particular month.…