India garnered over $65.4 billion through special foreign currency deposits from its 35 million-strong diaspora, latest figures from the central bank showed Saturday. The Reserve Bank of India said the amount mobilized through the so-called foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits stood at $65.397 billion as of Aug. 21.\n\nThat, along with inflows through overseas foreign currency debt and external commercial borrowings, takes the total to $72.85 billion, the central bank said. Earlier this week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said he expects at least $80 billion in foreign-currency inflows from recent measures to attract dollars.\n\nHis comments came days after the RBI surprised markets by bringing forward the closure of the FCNR swap window by a month to Aug 31.

Deputy Governor Malhotra defended the decision, calling it a data-driven “calibration” rather than a reversal, noting “diminishing marginal utility” of every dollar swapped.\n\nThe flows were supposed to improve sentiment toward the rupee but the currency has barely budged from the level it was on June 5, when the measures were announced, contrasting with a sharp rally in 2013 when a similar overseas dollar window was rolled out.