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The International Financial Services Centres Authority reported that 20 International Banking Units at GIFT IFSC had sanctioned USD 54.02 billion under the RBI's special swap facility for FCNR(B) deposits by 31 August 2026, of which about USD 52.82 billion had been disbursed.
Sanctions under the facility climbed steeply through August, from USD 28.60 billion on 14 August to USD 37.26 billion on 21 August and USD 54.02 billion by 31 August 2026.
International Banking Units at GIFT-IFSC also disbursed USD 11.62 billion in External Commercial Borrowings between April and August 2026, with monthly disbursement rising from USD 1.54 billion in April to USD 3.54 billion in August.
Indian banks raised a further USD 11.12 billion through bond listings on GIFT-IFSC exchanges over the same five months, USD 9.17 billion of it in July and August alone.
GIFT IFSC, at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, is India's first operational International Financial Services Centre, regulated by IFSCA under the IFSCA Act, 2019.
An International Financial Services Centre is a jurisdiction inside India that is treated as offshore for regulatory purposes: transactions there are conducted in foreign currency, between non-residents or with specified Indian entities, under a separate rule book. The point is to bring onshore the business Indian firms would otherwise do in Singapore or Dubai. An International Banking Unit is a branch that an Indian or foreign bank sets up inside the IFSC to carry out this offshore-style banking. FCNR(B) deposits - Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits - are term deposits that non-resident Indians hold in foreign currency with banks in India, so the depositor carries no rupee exchange risk. The RBI's special swap facility lets banks convert the dollars raised through such deposits into rupees with the central bank on agreed terms, which is what made large-scale mobilisation attractive.
Simple Analogy: The IFSC is a designated foreign-currency zone inside the country, where Indian banks can do the business they would otherwise book abroad.
Created IFSCA as the unified regulator for financial products, services and institutions in IFSCs in India, replacing a split between RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA.
The legal basis on which an IFSC is set up within a special economic zone; GIFT IFSC operates within the GIFT multi-services SEZ.
Govern foreign-currency borrowing by eligible Indian entities from non-resident lenders, including IBUs at GIFT-IFSC.
Set maturity, repatriation and interest-rate conditions for foreign-currency term deposits held by non-resident Indians.
General and Economic Awareness - IFSC, regulators, NRI deposit schemes, ECBs
GS Paper 3 > Indian Economy; financial sector and capital markets
General Awareness - economy and institutions
General Awareness - current affairs
A jurisdiction within India treated as offshore for regulatory purposes, where financial services are provided in foreign currency under a separate rule book.
A branch set up by an Indian or foreign bank inside an IFSC to conduct offshore-style banking in foreign currencies.
Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposit - a term deposit held by a non-resident Indian in foreign currency with a bank in India, free of rupee exchange risk for the depositor.
A loan raised by an eligible Indian entity from a non-resident lender, usually in foreign currency, under RBI and government regulations.
An arrangement under which a bank exchanges one currency for another with the central bank for a set period at agreed terms, used to manage foreign currency liquidity.