New Delhi, June 9 -- If anyone needs a layperson's refresher on the role played by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in steadying our economy during the crisis of 1991, the first episode of a documentary series called RBI Unlocked: Beyond the Rupee is a breezy watch. As a visual bonus, it even offers a glimpse of India's gold stash.

But its subtitle is ironic. While RBI evolved rapidly after 1991 in line with India's embrace of market principles-the rupee was largely floated, ad hoc government funding ended, private banks were okayed, etc-its last leap of evolution was squarely in aid of the rupee. Or, to be specific, the stability of its internal value over time.

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