NRI deposits swell by $13.71 bn in November

The Reserve Bank of India raised around $25 bn under the swap window facility, which was open till November 30

The Reserve Bank of India’s efforts to attract foreign exchange has paid off, with remittances from non-resident Indians (NRIs) touching $13.71 billion in November.

NRI deposits rose in September to $96.25 billion. Under foreign currency non-resident — banks [FCNR(B)] category, they stood at $38.62 billion at end of November, up from $24.70 billion in October, according to RBI data.

Bankers said the swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits did attract money from overseas Indians.

In August and September 2013, the RBI took many steps to attract NRI deposits.

On September 4, RBI decided to offer banks a window to swap fresh FCNR(B) dollar funds.

Under the window, banks could swap fresh FCNR(B) dollar funds (deposits with a maturity period of at least three years) at a fixed rate of 3.5 per cent a year. The swap window was open till November 30. The RBI raised about $25 billion under this facility in three months.

The other two categories of NRI deposits — NRE and NRO — saw net outflows in November.

The outstanding NRE deposit base was $ 49.06 billion ($ 49.21 billion in October) and NRO - $ 8.57 billion ($ 8.62 billion in October).

Meanwhile, the central bank sold net $ 10.08 billion in November. It’s outstanding net forward sales at the end of November stood at $ 32.54 billion, up from $ 14.45 billion at end of October.