Mumbai, July 10 (IANS). According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $ 7.26 billion to reach $ 674.193 billion in the week ending July 3, 2026. According to the data, a strong increase in foreign exchange reserves has been recorded after the decline last week.
The value of India’s gold reserves also increased by $2.669 billion to $105.205 billion during the reporting week.
Apart from this, India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also increased by $ 65 million and reached $ 18.623 billion.
Earlier, India’s foreign exchange reserves had declined by $ 5.65 billion to $ 666.93 billion in the week ending June 26.
Although there have been fluctuations in foreign exchange reserves in recent weeks, India’s forex reserves are still among the largest in the world. However, it is still below the record high of $728.494 billion recorded in the week ending February 27.
Meanwhile, the inflow of funds from abroad into banks is gradually increasing after the implementation of the revised Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNR-B) Deposit Scheme of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The banking sector expects further growth this month with increased awareness.
According to reports, till now banks have raised around $3 to 4 billion under the FCNR-B deposit scheme. Bankers believe that there will be further increase in investment in the coming weeks, especially from Indians (NRIs) living in Gulf countries.
According to banking sector estimates, the revised FCNR-B scheme could attract $40 to $50 billion of new deposits over time.
Bankers say higher interest rates and RBI’s decision to bear the hedging costs of banks will help increase investment in the scheme.
Banks are running special campaigns to increase awareness of this scheme among Indians living abroad. NRI customers in major overseas markets are being actively approached to avail the benefits of this scheme.
The banking sector expects that Indian expatriates living in Gulf countries will make the biggest contribution to the new deposits coming under this scheme.
–IANS
DBP