India’s state-run banks are projecting roughly $30 billion in deposits from a special scheme aimed at luring foreign currency from the country’s massive diaspora. The Reserve Bank of India launched the initiative on June 8, 2026, and by mid-July, nearly $10 billion had already flowed in.
How the scheme works
The program centers on Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits, known in central banking shorthand as FCNR(B). It lets Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin park their foreign currency in Indian banks for terms of three to five years. The RBI is offering banks a concessional USD-INR forex swap facility to hedge their principal exposure, which lets banks offer rates up to 7% without taking on enormous currency risk themselves. The scheme runs until September 30, 2026.
Punjab National Bank projects total sector inflows could land between $35 billion and $40 billion. Indian Bank and Canara Bank are more conservative, pegging their estimates at $20 billion to $25 billion. Federal Bank sits at about $30 billion. Some independent analysts are floating figures as high as $50 billion to $70 billion under favorable conditions.
Why India needs the cash
