Gas price hike would have led to higher inflation: Kunj Bansal, Centrum Wealth Management

In a chat with ET Now, Kunj Bansal, ED & CIO, Centrum Wealth Management, talks about the government's decision to defer gas price hike.

ET Now: The big story is that the Cabinet has deferred the decision on gas price hike by another three months. How disappointing is that?

Kunj Bansal: I do not know what compulsions have gone into taking this decision. One of the problems the current government is facing pertains to inflation. Infation has not gone down; in fact it has only gone up. If you take a cumulative and a cascading effect of a gas price hike into account, inflation is then likely to go up. So has must have prevailed over there.

Had it been some other aspects like the possibility of gas quantum being increased, then the scenario might have been different.

So, prima facie, it does look like there is a delay in decision-making. That said, we do not exactly know what transpired behind the scenes.