Q.968 Foreigners & NRIs holding

discontinued Indian currency

abroad . . .

Question: Dear NRI - FAQ, I have check your website regarding: ' How Foreigners, NRIs, OCI & PIOs can exchange discontinued Indian currency notes abroad' I do hope the Reserve Bank of India find a way to help NRIs who may possess some banned currency notes so that they can deposit the cash into an NRO account at a branch of an Indian bank overseas. The suggestion regarding - 'To perhaps send the money to friend or relatives with authority letter to exchange the discontinued currency before the last date announced by the government of India.' I have been told by the Post Office services in the United Kingdom that not currency is allow to be post to India and if the mail is opened in India and currency is found it will be destroyed . Who is in talks with the Reserve Bank in India to help us Overseas NRIs who are not able to travel to India resolve this issue. Please advise or who best to contact. Regards, Subrat Sunger Answer: Money held by foreigners and non- resident Indians abroad cannot amount to a lot of money as the maximum permissible amount of Indian currency allowed to be taken abroad was limited to Rupees 25,000 [about $370] The suggestion for NRIs to send currency notes to India is not meant for the transfer of money by post. The only way to do this would be to have someone traveling to India do this. The government of India is currently trying to cope with problems created in India as people try to deal with currency rationing. Long lines and shortage of cash is creating problems for many people and to as per news reports is going to continue until more currency notes become available and this may take a few months as 86% of Indian currency notes need to be printed. All four Indian currency printing presses are running continuously to try and restore normal flow of currency. NRIs with discontinued Indian currency notes will just have to wait until the situation in India returns to normal. I am confidant that no NRI will lose their money and an announcement will be made by the Government of India in this regard in the near future. As soon as something is announced I will post on site & NRI Information Twitter Account.