India’s diaspora deposit flows surpass $100 billion: Reports

Inflows under the Reserve Bank of India’s special overseas deposit facility have topped the $100 billion mark, the Financial Express newspaper reported Wednesday, citing officials it did not identify.

A rise past that number would mark a big jump from the last official figure of $65.39 billion reported by the central bank for the so-called foreign currency non-resident deposits. It also exceeds the estimate of about $80 billion provided by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

Last month, the monetary authority unexpectedly brought forward the closure of the window to August 31 from end-September, with Malhotra citing stronger-than-expected flows under the programme.

The massive dollar inflow has pushed up the central bank’s reserves to a record high of $729.3 billion and helped avert what could have been an unprecedented third year of a deficit in India’s broadest measure of money flowing in and out of the economy.

That’s given the central bank more ammunition to intervene in the currency market and support the rupee, which continues to face pressure from elevated oil prices.

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