The Reserve Bank of India has built up a net short dollar forward position of roughly $107 billion as of May 2026. India’s central bank is now carrying the largest derivatives-based currency defense in its history, and it got there fast.
To put that number in perspective, the position sat at $67.8 billion just four months earlier in January 2026. By February 2025, it had already reached $88.7 billion, which seemed aggressive at the time. The May figure blows past both of those marks.
What the RBI is actually doing
A “short dollar forward book” means the RBI has committed to selling dollars at a future date at pre-agreed prices. The central bank is making a massive leveraged bet that it can keep the rupee from cratering, without immediately draining its cash reserves.
On the spot side, the RBI sold $53.13 billion worth of dollars during the fiscal year ending in 2026. And on May 26 alone, the central bank conducted dollar buy-sell swap auctions worth $5 billion to inject liquidity while managing currency pressure.
