New Delhi, June 7 -- Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." So said 19th century Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana in The Life of Reason.

Fast forward to the 21st century; to former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao. In a piece penned for The Hindustan Times (19 May), Subbarao warned against trying a replay of the measures adopted during the taper tantrum of 2013.

He pointed out that the rupee has "been under pressure for the past several years because of persistent capital outflows driven by both push and pull factors."

The latest bout of weakness might have a specific trigger: the war in West Asia and prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But it is symptomatic of an underlying ...