After more than a decade, India is once again turning to its 35 million-strong diaspora for support. This time, banks are mounting a global campaign to attract more than $50 billion in deposits from overseas nationals as policymakers seek to bolster foreign exchange reserves and support a battered rupee.The pitch is simple: guaranteed returns of as much as 7.1% on dollar deposits, with lenders deploying relationship managers across Dubai, Singapore and London to drum up interest. Social media promotions and advertisements are targeting an increasingly affluent diaspora that sent home record sums last year.Atul Sinha, a Dubai-based non-resident businessman, said he had been approached by at least two state-run banks and a foreign lender with Indian operations. The sales pitch arrived through phone calls, emails and text messages touting the deposits as a tax-free, low-risk home for cash amid market volatility.And for a product that rarely generates much excitement, the response has been unusually enthusiastic.“I plan to park funds there,” he said. “Given volatility in crypto, equities, and real estate, this foreign currency deposit offers fixed returns and stability,” he added. Sinha said he is likely to park his money with a bank that has a global presence.Typically seen as a vanilla banking product, Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits have morphed into a full-scale sales drive. Banks are mobilizing relationship managers and ramping up outreach across key expatriate hubs, especially non-resident Indians (NRI) in the Middle East.Also Read| RBI raises investment limits for NRIs, OCIs; Extends equity route to overseas individuals“Not just Dubai — NRIs everywhere,” said Arjun Mittal, Dubai-based chief investment officer at multi-family office Abbey Road. “We’ve seen interest from people in London, Singapore and anywhere else where NRIs have access to these products. It’s a very popular tool. This time, it could easily exceed $50 billion.”The drive revives a playbook last used by lenders during the 2013 taper tantrum, when India mobilized about $34 billion to stem the rupee’s decline by tapping the diaspora. Remittances from non-resident Indians already rank among the world’s largest, and policy makers are betting that higher deposit rates can lure them at a time when capital inflows are under slowing.India saw inflows topping $155 billion in 2025-26 via remittances. Add another estimated $50 billion from this scheme which will run until September, and the country is potentially looking at inflows of at least $150 billion this year. While Gulf Cooperation Council countries have historically dominated India’s inward remittances, advanced economies now contribute more.Bloomberg