Overview

• Authorised dealer banks may now lend in Indian rupees to non-residents in Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka for trade-related needs.
• The RBI will publish transparent reference rates for key partner currencies, including the Indonesian rupiah and UAE dirham, to ease INR-based settlements.
• Foreign banks can deploy Special Rupee Vostro Account balances into Indian corporate bonds and commercial paper to improve settlement liquidity.
• The repo rate remains unchanged at 5.5% as the RBI highlights a Q1 current account deficit of USD 2.4 billion and USD 700.2 billion in foreign exchange reserves.
• The measures aim to lower reliance on the US dollar and reduce exchange-rate risks, with SRVAs already used in select trade flows reported to include Russian energy deals.