India has received a record inflow of $127.2 billion from non resident Indians under the foreign currency non resident bank deposit scheme. The Reserve Bank of India opened a special dollar swap window in June and closed it on August 31 after strong participation. The scheme offered attractive returns to overseas investors with hedging support from the central bank.
The total inflow under the swap window stood at $136.4 billion by the end of August. This included $5.3 billion raised through overseas borrowings and $3.9 billion via external commercial borrowings. The bulk of the money came through FCNR deposits.
The inflows have boosted India’s foreign exchange reserves which climbed to $729 billion by August 21 from $681 billion in June. Surplus rupee liquidity also rose to ₹7.76 trillion on September 1. Economists believe these inflows will help India post a balance of payments surplus in FY27 even though fiscal costs remain.
The current account deficit in FY26 was contained at 0.6% of GDP, the lowest in 14 years. Analysts expect a surplus of more than $50 billion in FY27 with CAD limited to 1% of GDP. Experts caution that the funds must be deployed productively to offset future fiscal costs that may reduce RBI dividends.