EconomySaturday, 4 April 2026·The Hindu
RBI tightens offshore rupee derivative rules to curb NDF speculation and support the rupee
In April 2026, the RBI imposed tighter controls on non-deliverable derivative contracts and capped banks’ daily currency positions at $100 million.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In April 2026, the Reserve Bank of India tightened rules on offshore rupee derivative trading, capped banks’ daily currency positions at $100 million, and aimed to reduce pressure in the $149 billion daily offshore market.
Key specifics
- The RBI action targeted non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) traded in offshore hubs such as Singapore and London.
- Banks’ daily currency positions were capped at $100 million to limit arbitrage and speculation.
- The offshore market was described as a $149 billion daily market, nearly twice the size of India’s domestic market.
- After the intervention, the rupee rose by 2% to 92.84 per dollar, its strongest single-day performance since 2013.
- India’s forex reserves were reported at $698.3 billion after a decline of $11.4 billion.
Exam lens
Question type: Economy and banking regulation, forex market terms, RBI measures. TNPSC one-liner: RBI’s April 2026 move on NDFs capped bank positions at $100 million and pushed the rupee to 92.84 per dollar.