RBI allows start-ups to open foreign currency accounts

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said an Indian start-up, with a subsidiary abroad, may open a foreign currency account with a bank outside India for crediting money to the account of foreign-exchange earnings. The share of the balance in such accounts through exports should be repatriated, it said.

Okays writing options
The central bank allowed Indian exporters and importers to write 'call' and 'put' currency options.

Banks should treat such options as "unhedged exposure" and set aside additional provisions for such exposure, RBI said in its notification.

The move was first announced on 7 April, 2015 in order to encourage participation in the Over the Counter (OTC) currency options market and improve its liquidity. Anup Roy