India has raised a $127.23 billion in Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR-B) deposits under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) special USD-INR forex swap facility till August 31. RBI had launched the facility on June 8, 2026, in effort to strengthen India’s external sector position and support foreign exchange liquidity amid global market uncertainties. The facility was for FCNR-B deposits, Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCB) and External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs).
RBI’s measures have led to a surge in foreign exchange inflows into the country. India attracted total inflows of $136.377 billion as on August 31 under the special USD-INR forex swap facility with FCNR-B deposits alone accounting for $127.226 billion (provisional). RBI has emphasized that the FCNR-B inflows underscore the overwhelming response of Non-Resident Indians to the scheme. Further, OFCBs contributed $5.26 billion to the inflows while ECBs amounted to $3.891 billion.
Under the FCNR-B scheme, banks offered attractive interest rates to mobilise foreign currency deposits. FCNR-B deposits are foreign-currency-denominated fixed deposits, and both the principal and interest are repayable in the same foreign currency. Meanwhile, the response has been strong enough for the RBI to advance the closure of the FCNR-B window itself, from September 30 to August 31, 2026, having already achieved its objective ahead of schedule. The swap scheme for ECBs and OFCBs will remain open until December 31, 2026, as hitherto.
