Forex inflows mobilised under the Reserve Bank of India's special USD-INR swap facility reached USD 72.85 billion as of August 21 with FCNR(B) deposits accounting for the bulk of the funds raised under the scheme, according to data released by the central bank on Saturday.
The RBI said authorised dealer banks reported USD 65.397 billion in inflows through Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] deposits under the facility as of August 21. This was followed by overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs) at USD 4.86 billion and external commercial borrowings (ECBs) at USD 2.591 billion. The central bank had introduced the special USDINR forex swap facility on June 8, covering inflows through FCNR(B) deposits, ECBs and OFCBs.
The facility was designed to support foreign currency inflows through these channels and strengthen the availability of foreign exchange in the domestic financial system. Under the scheme, the window for FCNR(B) deposits remains open until August 31 while the facility for ECBs and OFCBs will remain available until December 31, the RBI said. The latest data show that FCNR(B) deposits have emerged as the dominant source of foreign currency mobilisation under the facility, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the total inflows reported so far. The combined inflows from OFCBs and ECBs stood at around USD 7.45 billion. The strong mobilisation comes ahead of the Augustend deadline for FCNR(B) deposits and highlights the significant response from banks and overseas depositors to the RBI's special forex facility.