NRIs parked $4.8 billion in local deposits between April and May

KOLKATA: Call it dollar deluge from overseas Indians. To take advantage of the weakening rupee vis-a-vis dollar and higher returns, non residents have pumped in a record $4.753 billion in local bank deposits during April and May, seven times higher than the same period last year.

Indians working abroad prefer NRE (non-resident external rupee accounts) scheme the most as the scheme offers interest rates akin to high domestic deposit rates. This scheme saw an net inflow of $5.502 billion in the two months, compared to an net outfow of $133 million in the corresponding period in 2011, according to Reserve Bank of India's latest data published on Tuesday.

Senior bankers said that depositors withdrew money from foreign currency non-resident (banks) (FCNR-B) accounts and parked in NRE accounts to maximise return. There was net outflow of $794 million in April and May from FCNR-B accounts.

The non-resident ordinary rupee ( NRO) account, which is non repatriable or strictly for NRI's local use has seen a modest inflow of $46 million.

Reserve Bank of India has deregulated the interest rates on NRI deposits in December last year which prompted NRIs to invest $4.658 billion between January and March this year which was 40% of total NRI flow of $11.9 billion in 2011-12.