Investments: Indian Diaspora’s deposit inflows may surpass $100 billion

New Delhi: Enthused with fresh investment opportunities in a rising India, the Indian Diaspora has supported their motherland’s efforts to emerge as a development nation when India celebrates the centenary of its independence from the British, in 2047.

This is evident from the inflows under the Reserve Bank of India’s special overseas deposit facility, which has reportedly attracted nearly USD 100 billion, officials were quoted in media reports on Tuesday.

A rise past that number would mark a big jump from the last official figure of USD 65.39 billion reported by the central bank for the Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits. It also exceeds the estimate of about USD 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 inflows under the programme.

The massive dollar inflow has pushed up the central bank’s reserves to a record high of USD 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.