New Delhi, May 13 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for Indians to help conserve foreign exchange in various ways, such as by holding off on foreign travel and using less fuel, made waves as news partly because it has been more than a decade since India's external sector was last under pressure. With crude trading above $100 per barrel globally, our oil imports are soaking up dollars even as exports face protectionist headwinds.

Ever since war erupted in West Asia, it has been clear that its adverse effect on our balance of payments (BoP) would need to be kept under watch. Now that Indian residents have been asked to help keep the country's forex expenses low, it is hard to estimate the reduction that may follow.

Thankfully, in suc...