New Delhi, May 27 -- The West Asia crisis has prompted India's government to pursue a swathe of measures to help the economy weather its fallout. On the country's consumption of imports, a key focus of this exercise, these efforts straddle the spectrum from austerity to efficiency, given the burden of import bills inflamed by the war's oil shock and its knock-on cost surge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also led a behavioural nudge, asking for belts to be tightened. Export relief moves, a stabilization fund meant as a fiscal buffer and a credit backstop for small businesses are also part of this defensive response.

All this, however, may not do much to alleviate macro adversity in the broader context of a weakening currency amid wani...