By Saurabh Garg, founder·7 min read·Published 2026-08-20

Short answer: RBI balance of payments data released on 14 August 2026 shows net transfers into India of $41.4 billion for April to June 2026, against $30.9 billion in the same three months of 2025. Over the same quarter, net NRI deposits fell to $2.8 billion from $3.6 billion. More money came in and less of it stayed in an NRI bank account. The data does not say where the rest of it went.

More NRI Money Is Reaching India. Less of It Is Sitting in an NRI Deposit

RBI balance of payments data released on 14 August 2026 puts net transfers into India at $41.4 billion for April to June 2026, against $30.9 billion in the same three months of 2025. Over the same quarter, net NRI deposits fell to $2.8 billion from $3.6 billion. More money came in. Less of it stayed in an NRI bank account. The data does not say where the rest of it went, and anyone telling you it went into property is guessing.

The numbers, as the RBI published them

The release is "Developments in India's Balance of Payments for the Month of June 2026", Press Release 2026-2027/894, dated 14 August 2026, signed by Chief General Manager Brij Raj. It is a one page table of preliminary monthly data.

Net transfers, the line the RBI labels A.3, ran at $41.4 billion for April to June 2026 against $30.9 billion for April to June 2025. That is an increase of $10.5 billion, or about 34%. For the single month of June 2026 the figure was $11.9 billion against $10.9 billion in June 2025.

Net NRI deposits, a sub-line of banking capital, ran at $2.8 billion for April to June 2026 against $3.6 billion a year earlier. That is a fall of $0.8 billion, or about 22%. For June 2026 alone the figure was $1.4 billion against $1.7 billion in June 2025.

The wider picture in the same table. The current account was in deficit at $3.1 billion for April to June 2026 against a deficit of $2.9 billion a year earlier. The June month alone swung to a deficit of $6.2 billion from a surplus of $1.2 billion in June 2025, on merchandise imports of $71.4 billion against $54.5 billion. The overall balance for April to June 2026 was negative $8.1 billion, against positive $4.5 billion a year earlier.

Two labels on that table matter. The 2026 figures carry a P for preliminary. The 2025 figures carry a PR, the RBI's mark for a figure it has revised in part. These numbers move.

What the transfers line is and is not

The A.3 line is net transfers. Most of it is private transfers, which is money sent home by Indians working abroad, and it also carries official transfers. It is not a clean remittance number and the RBI does not present it as one. Read it as the broad measure of money arriving in India without a matching claim going the other way.

The NRI deposits line is narrower and cleaner. It is the net change in balances across NRE, NRO and FCNR(B) accounts. Net means inflows minus outflows, so a smaller number can mean less money coming in, more money going out, or both at once. The table does not separate them.

What the two lines together do not tell you

The honest reading is short. Transfers rose 34% year on year for the quarter. Net NRI deposits fell 22% over the same quarter. Both are true and both come from the same one page table.

What does not follow is a story about where the difference went. The balance of payments records the money crossing the border and the account it first lands in. It does not follow the rupees after that. Money that arrives and then moves out of an NRI deposit into equities, mutual funds, a family account, a builder's escrow, a fixed deposit in a resident's name, or spending, all leaves the deposit line the same way.

You will read a version of this data over the next fortnight that turns it into NRI demand for Indian real estate. There is no line in this release that supports that. If a survey, a registration count or a developer's booking data supports it, that is the source to cite. This one does not.

Where it does touch an owner abroad

Two places, both small and both real.

The first is pricing on NRI deposits. Softer net inflows into NRE, NRO and FCNR(B) accounts over a quarter is what banks respond to with rates and campaign pricing on those accounts. If you park rent or sale proceeds in an NRO account, the return on that balance is worth checking against what other banks are quoting rather than leaving on default.

The second is the rupee. A quarter with a $8.1 billion negative overall balance and a June current account deficit of $6.2 billion is a quarter in which the external accounts were under more pressure than a year earlier. Anyone whose India income is rupee rent and whose spending is in dirhams, pounds or dollars already knows that the exchange rate does more to the annual number than the rent revision does.

Neither of those is a reason to act this week. They are context for a decision you were going to make anyway.

The account mechanics are in NRO accounts and rent taxation and, for sale money, in repatriating property sale proceeds from an NRO account. The transaction guides are selling property in India as an NRI and buying property in India as an NRI.

This is a report on data the RBI published on 14 August 2026. It is not advice on where to hold your money.

FAQ

How much money came into India in April to June 2026? Net transfers were $41.4 billion for the quarter, against $30.9 billion in April to June 2025, on preliminary RBI data released on 14 August 2026. The figure covers private transfers, most of which is money sent by Indians working abroad, and official transfers.

Did NRI deposits grow in the quarter? Net NRI deposits were positive at $2.8 billion for April to June 2026, so balances grew, but by less than the $3.6 billion of a year earlier. The line is net, so it does not separate lower inflows from higher withdrawals.

Does this data show NRIs buying more Indian property? No. The balance of payments records money crossing the border and the account it lands in. It does not track what the money is spent on afterwards. Any claim about property demand needs a different source.

What was India's current account balance in the quarter? A deficit of $3.1 billion for April to June 2026, against a deficit of $2.9 billion in April to June 2025. The month of June 2026 on its own was a deficit of $6.2 billion, against a surplus of $1.2 billion in June 2025, on merchandise imports of $71.4 billion against $54.5 billion.

Are these figures final? No. The April to June 2026 column is marked P for preliminary and the April to June 2025 column is marked PR, the RBI's mark for a figure it has revised in part. Both get restated in later releases, so a number quoted from this table on 20 August 2026 may not match the same line six months from now.

66 MG Road newsdesk

Sources

Information on this page is as on 2026-08-20. Rules, rates, deadlines and government portals change without notice, so verify against the official source before you act. This page is for information only. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified adviser who knows your position.