RBI unveils measures for cross-border trade transactions

Mumbai: The RBI has allowed banks in India and their overseas branches to lend in Indian Rupees to residents of Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, including banks in those countries, to facilitate cross-border trade.

The central bank said amendments have been made to the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) Regulations, 2018, and the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a Person Resident in India) Regulations, 2015, as part of efforts to ease external trade and payments.

In January 2025, the RBI had allowed Indian exporters to open foreign currency accounts with banks outside India for receiving export proceeds, with unutilised balances to be repatriated by the end of the following month.

Now, the repatriation period has been extended to three months for foreign currency accounts maintained with banks in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.

The measures were announced alongside the RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy on October 1.