India's August balance of payments surplus swings to $45.4 billion from $5.6 billion deficit

India's balance of payments recorded a surplus of $45.4 billion in August 2026, compared with a deficit of $5.6 billion a year earlier, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday.

The country's external position showed significant improvement following central bank policy measures to strengthen foreign exchange reserves.

The current account deficit narrowed to $5.2 billion in August 2026 from $6.1 billion in August 2025. This improvement was supported by a reduction in the merchandise trade deficit, which fell to $26.6 billion as exports reached $44.7 billion against imports of $71.3 billion. Net services receipts also grew to $16.5 billion in August, driven by $35.5 billion in total service exports.


Net transfers, which include remittances from Indian workers overseas, rose to $12.8 billion in August from $12.2 billion in the same month last year. For the April–August 2026 period, cumulative net transfers reached $66.8 billion.

The capital account recorded massive net inflows of $50.6 billion in August 2026, compared with inflows of just $0.5 billion in August 2025. Foreign direct investment into India stood at $5.2 billion, yielding a net FDI inflow of $3.3 billion for the month. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investment turned positive, posting net inflows of $1.7 billion compared to outflows of $2.6 billion a year earlier.

Banking capital saw a dramatic surge, generating net inflows of $64.7 billion in August. This expansion was predominantly driven by Non-Resident Indian (NRI) deposit schemes, which attracted $83.0 billion in net inflows during the month, bringing the April–August NRI deposit total to $119.2 billion.