New Delhi, Sept. 6 -- Be careful what you wish for' is an old (and wise) saying. Getting what you wish for can bring unexpected results. And, at times, lead to unwanted outcomes. The saying fits the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) recent foreign currency non-resident deposit (bank), or FCNR(B), scheme to garner additional dollars to a T.

Rewind to 8 June. Faced with unrelenting foreign portfolio outflows and prolonged weakness in the rupee, RBI turned to its tried and tested strategy when faced with trouble on the external front. It turned to overseas Indians, luring them with attractive sweeteners, even as it prodded banks to resort to tactics it would have frowned upon had they dared to replicate them at home.

It virtually gave them car...