RBI’s ‘masterstroke’ Image Credit source: PTI
Recent steps by the Reserve Bank of India are expected to help India attract capital inflows of $55 to 65 billion in the current financial year, stabilize the rupee and bring the country’s balance of payments into surplus. This has been said in a report of the Economic Research Department of State Bank of India. The report ‘Ecowrap’ said that the central bank’s steps in February and June 2026 should be seen as a coordinated effort to stabilize the rupee, strengthen the domestic bond market, attract more stable foreign capital and reduce barriers to external financing.
RBI has taken many steps
The central bank has taken several steps to attract foreign capital and strengthen the country’s balance of payments. These steps include concessional foreign currency exchange rate swap facility to promote External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) by public sector undertakings. RBI has also given a similar facility to banks to raise new three to five year foreign currency nonresident (bank) account (FCNR) deposits.
Dollar can come this much
According to the SBI report, the February steps on external commercial borrowings were taken keeping in mind structural and market developments, while the measures taken in June were aimed at attracting foreign exchange inflows and supporting the rupee without raising domestic interest rates. The report said that the inflow of about $55-65 billion will ensure that deposit growth in the bank system can increase to about 14.5-15 percent for the financial year 2026-27 as against the estimated 16 percent credit growth.
These are the measures taken
According to the report, this would mean that after adjusting for regulatory relaxations, the loan-deposit gap would reduce by about Rs 1 lakh crore and the interest rate structure would come down further. To arrest the fall in the exchange rate of Rupee against Dollar, RBI has launched US Dollar-Rupee Foreign Exchange Swap Facility for new FCNR (B) deposits. These deposits will be for a minimum period of three years and maximum five years. This facility came into effect from Monday and will remain open till October 16, 2026.
