Banks target Indian diaspora in $50B deposit drive to support the rupee

The Reserve Bank of India is reaching back over a decade for inspiration. The central bank has reopened a special deposit window aimed at luring billions of dollars from Indians living abroad, borrowing a strategy it first deployed during the 2013 “taper tantrum” that rattled emerging market currencies worldwide.

The Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR)(B) deposit window opened on June 8, 2026, and will accept deposits through September 30, 2026. Punjab National Bank CEO Ashok Chandra estimates the banking sector could raise between $35 billion and $40 billion through the scheme. Other participating banks project the total could stretch even higher, potentially landing between $40 billion and $60 billion.

The playbook and the pitch

The campaign is laser-focused on NRI (Non-Resident Indian) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) populations in the US, Canada, the UK, and Middle Eastern nations.

The bait is straightforward: competitive interest rates estimated between 5.5% and 7% on US dollar deposits. That range sits above current US Treasury yields, which makes it a genuinely attractive proposition for NRIs who might otherwise park their cash in American government bonds or savings accounts. Layer on tax advantages for eligible depositors, and the pitch gets even more compelling.

Banks aren’t shouldering the cost burden alone either. The RBI is reportedly providing facilities to help manage the expense of offering above-market rates on foreign currency deposits.

Indian Bank, Canara Bank, and Federal Bank are among the institutions expected to participate alongside PNB. Individual banks are projecting inflows ranging from $20 billion to $30 billion each, which explains how the aggregate figure could push toward the $40 billion to $60 billion range.

A crisis playbook with a proven track record

When the Federal Reserve signaled in 2013 that it would begin tapering its bond-buying program, emerging market currencies got hammered. The rupee was no exception, and the RBI responded by opening a similar FCNR(B) deposit window that ultimately attracted approximately $34 billion in NRI deposits.

India received over $135 billion in remittances from its overseas population in FY25, making it the world’s top remittance recipient. Non-resident deposits have historically served as a buffer for the Indian banking system against external economic shocks, providing dollar liquidity without requiring India to draw down its foreign exchange reserves.