ECONOMY
RBI opens dollar window for govt OMCs, caps forex trade to stop rupee slide
- IBJ Bureau
- Oct 11, 2026
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced a number of measures to stop the rupee’s plunge.
The measures come as the rupee continues to depreciate, nearing Rs 97 to a dollar, amid persisting geopolitical and global economic uncertainty.
The central bank has announced a special window to meet the entire daily dollar requirements of the three public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) — Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.
Under the facility, the RBI will undertake sale of dollars to the public sector OMCs through designated banks.
The facility will come into effect from October 12, 2026, and will remain in place until further notice, the RBI has said.
The central bank has also announced regulatory measures for foreign exchange (forex) trading to strengthen market discipline and ensure appropriate risk management while maintaining an orderly and transparent market environment.
As a part of the regulatory measures, the RBI has said, “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.”
Rollover of forex derivative contracts on maturity will continue to be permitted, subject to compliance with the extant regulatory provisions, it has added.
Besides, the corresponding threshold for taking positions in exchange-traded currency derivatives involving the rupee without underlying exposure has been reduced from $100 million to $5 million equivalent across all recognised stock exchanges taken together.
The RBI has announced the introduction of Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve (FERR).
In respect of all forex derivative contracts involving the rupee for the notional value exceeding $2 million equivalent, the RBI has said that “authorised dealers shall be required to maintain with the Reserve Bank an FERR in cash equal to 20 per cent of the INR equivalent of the notional amount of each transaction”.
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