The total outstanding NRI deposits stood at $165.96 billion as of the end of May 2026. Outstanding NRI deposits were $166.72 billion in May 2025 and $165.59 billion in April 2026.
NRI deposit schemes include foreign currency non-resident (bank) [FCNR (B)] deposits, non-resident external (NRE) deposits and non-resident ordinary (NRO) deposits.
In the April-May period of FY27, inflows into FCNR (B) deposits fell to $282 million, as against $442 million in the corresponding period a year ago.
In May, the outstanding amount in FCNR (B) accounts rose to $34.04 billion. An FCNR (B) account allows customers to maintain a fixed deposit in India in freely convertible foreign currencies for a tenure ranging from one to five years.
Since the account is maintained in foreign currency, it protects funds against currency fluctuations during the deposit tenure.
NRE deposits recorded inflows of $597 million during the April-May period of FY27, compared with $1.01 billion in the corresponding period year-on-year.
Outstanding NRE deposits stood at $98.39 billion in May 2026, against $101.86 billion in May 2025.
NRO deposits recorded inflows of $451 million in April-May 2026, compared with $434 million in the corresponding period a year ago. The total outstanding amount in NRO deposits stood at $33.53 billion in May 2026, compared with $31.61 billion a year earlier. An NRO account is a rupee-denominated bank account for NRIs.
In its bulletin, the RBI said the moderation in NRI deposit inflows compared with last year was driven by a slowdown in non-resident external rupee account (NR(E)RA) and FCNR(B) accounts.
‘With the recent policy measures on non-resident deposits (NRDs), overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs) and external commercial borrowing (ECB) inflows by the RBI, including a concessional swap facility for fresh FCNR(B) deposits on June 5, 2026, there was a surge in FCNR(B) deposit inflows amounting to $17.4 billion from June 8 to July 17, 2026.’
During the same period, OFCBs and ECBs recorded inflows of $1.97 billion and $1.34 billion, respectively.
— Aathira Varier, Business Standard
