The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday announced a series of measures aimed at supporting the Indian rupee and maintaining orderly conditions in the foreign exchange market. The steps include a special dollar supply window for three state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) and tighter rules governing foreign exchange derivative transactions.
The special window will open on October 12, 2026 and will remain in place till further notice.
RBI to Supply Dollars to Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL
On the basis of assessment of current market conditions, the RBI has decided to open a special window to meet the entire daily dollar requirements of three public sector oil marketing companies including Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation, the central bank said.
Under the facility, the Reserve Bank will undertake sale of USD to the public sector OMCs through designated banks.
The RBI also introduced steps to avoid misuse of foreign exchange hedging facilities by tightening documentation.
RBI Tightens Documentation for Forex Derivative Contracts
“Authorised Dealers will be required to obtain and retain an undertaking from users entering into foreign exchange derivative contracts involving INR to hedge contracted exposures, confirming that the same underlying exposure has not been hedged with any other Authorised Dealer,” RBI said in a separate statement.
To ensure orderly functioning of the foreign exchange market, RBI imposed restrictions on rebooking of cancelled foreign exchange derivative contracts.
Cancelled Forex Derivative Contracts Cannot Be Rebooked
“Authorised Dealers shall not permit users to rebook any foreign exchange derivative contract involving INR, whether deliverable or non-deliverable, which has been cancelled with any Authorised Dealer after the issuance of the directions,” the statement noted.
It also reduced the threshold for undertaking foreign exchange derivative transactions without establishing underlying exposure to $5 million equivalent, across all authorised dealers.
20% Forex Risk Reserve Required for Large Transactions
Further, in all foreign exchange derivative contracts involving INR for notional value exceeding $2 million, authorised dealers must maintain a Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve with the Reserve Bank. The reserve must be maintained in cash equal to 20 per cent of the INR equivalent of the notional amount of each transaction.
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