According to a report in The Wire, after Operation Sindoor, the Indian rupee has depreciated by around 12 percent against the Pakistani rupee. The Indian Rupee has depreciated unprecedentedly against the Pakistani Rupee in the last 12 months. The fallout began in May 2015, when US President Donald Trump called a ceasefire following a series of 88-hour Operation Sindur.
As of May 15, 2025, the exchange rate of the Pakistani Rupee against the Indian Rupee was, however, on May 18, 2026, the rate depreciated to 2.9010 Pakistani Rupees. This means that the Indian currency has depreciated by 11.86 percent during this period and will depreciate by 6.8 percent in 2026 alone. The currency’s sharp fall has made it clear that India’s current economic crisis is not only due to the strengthening of the dollar in global markets or the war situation in West Asia, but the weakness of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
The Indian rupee was the worst performing currency in Asia in 2025 and this continued this year. Not only the Pakistani rupee but also the Indian currency has weakened against the Bangladeshi rupee. The Bangladeshi rupee fell from 1.42 per Indian rupee to 1.28 rupees against the Bangladeshi rupee, which means that the Indian rupee has depreciated by about 10 percent against the Bangladeshi currency in a year. The Modi government, however, has always blamed the rupee’s weakness on international pressure and the West Asian crisis. But this continuous decline of the rupee against the Pakistani currency indicates that the problem is actually internal to India. If this depreciation of the currency is only due to global market conditions or the impact of the dollar, all other currencies in the region will be equally affected. While other emerging economies are facing similar international challenges, their currencies have not suffered the same decline against the Pakistani rupee.
The fall of the Indian currency against the Pakistani rupee started with the military conflict and diplomatic intervention but has not stopped since the end of the situation. This phenomenon reinforces the theory of structural weakness in the Indian economy. This comparison with Pakistan is particularly significant because in 2025 Pakistan will receive aid from the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) and will be forced to adopt austerity monetary and fiscal policies. When he was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in 2012 and 2013, Modi repeatedly questioned the devaluation of the rupee during the Congress-led UPA government. His aggressive rhetoric at the time drew attention to politics where he claimed that the rupee’s fall was actually a reflection of central government failure and poor governance. Also, to portray himself as a strong leader, he also used aggressive nationalist language against Pakistan and alleged that the UPA government had failed to stop Pakistan.
The current figures do not match Modi’s comments before he became prime minister as the Indian currency continued to lose value against the Pakistani rupee under his own government. Fluctuations in global markets and domestic policy conditions have continued to depreciate the rupee over the past year. The Financial Times recently published a report on the growing public confidence in Modi and his government citing the falling rupee as a major factor.
The report notes that the Indian rupee has been the worst performer among major currencies over the past few quarters, pushing up the cost of everything from studying abroad to doing business or traveling. Recently, a media report that the government is planning to impose additional taxes on foreign travel has sparked outrage on social media. The Prime Minister’s actions show that the Modi government is taking the issue very seriously as he himself has dismissed the news as completely baseless on social media. Global observers also think that the fall of the rupee is not only due to the international situation. For example, Japanese bank MUFG reported in March that regardless of which way the crisis in West Asia plays out, the rupee is likely to continue falling by the end of this year, and international events may accelerate the decline somewhat, but not stop it.
