New Delhi -India’s rupee sliding close to ₹90 per U.S. dollar has revived the argument that currency depreciation should boost export competitiveness. But trade data and new analysis from the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) show that the rupee’s fall has had little impact because India’s export ecosystem is too costly and over-regulated for exchange-rate gains to matter.

The long-term trend tells the story clearly. In 2013, the rupee traded near ₹60, and India’s merchandise exports stood at $313 billion. Today, after nearly 50 per cent depreciation, exports have . . .