RBI lower currency limit for pilgrims visiting Kartarpur Gurudwara

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday permitted Indians as well as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders going on pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to carry up to Rs 11,000.

The RBI in a statement said that the same limit applies for bringing in the currency.

"In terms of Regulation 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015, as amended from time to time, the Reserve bank, in the public interest and in consultation with the Central Government, has decided that Indian passport holders as well as persons of Indian origin carrying the Overseas citizen of India Card along with their passports travelling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan through the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, shall be allowed to carry outside and bring into India at the time of his/her return, only Indian currency notes and/or foreign currency in USD, the total value of which may not exceed Rs 11,000," RBI statement reads.

The Kartarpur Corridor, which links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district, reopened on Wednesday.

In a major decision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government decided to re-open the Kartarpur corridor from November 17. It was closed in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The visa-free 4.7-kilometre long corridor joins the Indian border to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan. It became operational in 2019.