India’s current-account deficit widened to $18.3 billion in April-August, while August’s $45.4 billion overall balance-of-payments surplus reflected strong capital inflows, preliminary Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
The August surplus compared with a $5.6 billion deficit in August 2025. For April-August, the overall balance was a $58 billion surplus, versus a $0.8 billion deficit a year earlier. The current-account shortfall in August narrowed to $5.2 billion from $6.1 billion in August 2025.
Net capital-account inflows were $50.6 billion, up from $0.5 billion a year earlier. Net banking capital totaled $64.7 billion and included $83 billion in net non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits. In August 2025, banking capital recorded a net outflow of $4.7 billion, while net NRI deposits were $1 billion. Net foreign direct investment was $3.3 billion and net foreign portfolio investment was $1.7 billion, compared with outflows of $0.1 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively, a year earlier. Net external commercial borrowings showed a $22.4 billion outflow, versus $0.1 billion.
The merchandise deficit narrowed to $26.6 billion from $27.6 billion. Exports rose to $44.7 billion from $35.1 billion, while imports climbed to $71.3 billion from $62.7 billion. The net services surplus grew to $16.5 billion from $15.6 billion, and net transfers increased to $12.8 billion from $12.2 billion. The net income deficit widened to $8 billion from $6.3 billion.
Across April-August, the merchandise deficit widened to $146 billion from $124.7 billion. The services surplus increased to $85.8 billion from $79.9 billion, and net transfers rose to $66.8 billion from $55.6 billion. The net income deficit was $24.8 billion, compared with $23.6 billion a year earlier.
A June RBI circular set up a dollar-rupee swap facility for new FCNR(B) deposits with terms of three to five years. The Ministry of Finance said the facility had drawn $73 billion in foreign-exchange inflows as of Aug. 21, including $65.40 billion in FCNR(B) deposits. The ministry said the deposit window ended Aug. 31, ahead of its planned Sept. 30 close, and described the inflows as strengthening India’s external buffers. The RBI’s August figures report $83 billion in net NRI deposits but do not break out how much came through the swap facility.
The Ministry of Finance compared the program with a 2013 FCNR(B) scheme, which it said raised about $26 billion over roughly three months. An RBI retrospective put combined inflows from two swap windows at about $34 billion; that figure covers a broader scope, including a separate window involving banks’ overseas borrowings.
The RBI marked the August 2026 figures as preliminary and the August 2025 figures as partially revised.
