Banks in India and their overseas branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to persons resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to facilitate cross-border trade transactions, the Reserve Bank said on Monday.
The RBI said amendments have been made to the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) Regulations, 2018 and Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign currency accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2015, as part of continuous efforts towards facilitating external trade and payments’.
“AD (authorised dealer) banks in India and their overseas branches have been permitted to lend in Indian Rupees to persons resident in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, including banks in these jurisdictions, to facilitate cross-border trade transactions,” it said.
In January 2025, the RBI permitted Indian exporters to open foreign currency accounts with a bank outside India for the realisation of export proceeds. Unutilised balances in these accounts are required to be