Deposits Accounts of NRI are regulated by the RBI under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, more particularly under the Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2000. The regulations cover the following type of bank accounts permitted to be maintained by NRI customers

1. 'FCNR(B) account' i.e. a Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) account referred to in clause (ii) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 5;

2. 'NRO account' i.e a Non-Resident Ordinary account referred to in clause (iii) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 5;

3. 'NRNR account' means a Non-Resident Non-Repatriable account referred to in clause (iv) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 5;

4. 'NRSR account' means a Non-Resident (Special) Rupee account referred to in clause (v) of sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 5;

A person resident in India shall not accept any deposit from, or make any deposit with, a person resident outside India unless allowed by RBIon an application made to it and on being satisfied that it is necessary so to do, allow a person resident in India to accept or make deposit from or with a person resident outside India.

Nothing contained in these Regulations shall apply to the following:

1. Deposits held in rupee accounts maintained by foreign diplomatic missions and diplomatic personnel and their family members in India with an authorised dealer.

2. Deposits held by diplomatic missions and diplomatic personnel in special rupee accounts namely Diplomatic Bond Stores Account to facilitate purchases of bonded stocks from firms and companies who have been granted special facilities by customs authorities for import of stores into bond, subject to following conditions:

   1. Credits to the account shall be only by way of proceeds of inward remittances received from outside India through normal banking channels or by a transfer from a foreign currency account in India of the account holder maintained with an authorised dealer in accordance with clause 3 of this Regulation ;

   2. All cheque leaves issued to the account holder shall be superscribed as " Diplomatic Bond Stores Account No.";

   3. Debits to the accounts shall be for local disbursements, or for payments for purchases of bonded stocks to firms and companies who have been granted special facilities by customs authorities for import of stores into bond;

   4. The funds in the account may be repatriated outside India without the approval of Reserve Bank

3. Deposits held in accounts maintained in foreign currency by diplomatic missions and diplomatic personnel in India subject to the following conditions:

   1. Credits to the account shall be only by way of proceeds of inward remittances received from outside India through normal banking channels;

   2. Funds held in such account if converted in rupees shall not be converted back into foreign currency;

   3. The account may be held in the form of current or term deposit account, and in the case of diplomatic personnel, may also be held in the form of savings account;

   4. The rate of interest on savings or term deposits shall be such as may be determined by the authorised dealer maintaining the account;

   5. The funds in the account may be repatriated outside India without the approval of Reserve Bank.

4. Deposits held in accounts maintained in rupees with an authorised dealer by persons resident in Nepal and Bhutan;

5. Deposits held in accounts maintained with an authorised dealer by the United Nations Organisation and its subsidiary/affiliate bodies in India, and its or their officials in India.

(1)An authorised dealer in India may accept deposit

1. under the Non-Resident (External) Account Scheme(NRE account), specified in Schedule 1, from a non-resident Indian or an overseas corporate body;

2. under the Foreign Currency (Non-Resident) Account Banks Scheme,(FCNR-B account), specified in Schedule 2, from a non-resident Indian or an overseas corporate body;

3. under the Non-Resident (Ordinary) Account Scheme, (NRO account), specified in Schedule 3, from any person resident outside India;

4. under the Non-Resident (Non-Repatriable) Rupee Account scheme, (NRNR account), specified in Schedule 4, from any person resident outside India;

5. under the Non-Resident (Special) Rupee Account Scheme, (NRSR account), specified in Schedule 5, from a non-resident Indian.

(2)Without prejudice to sub-regulation (1), deposits under NRE, NRO and NRSR Account Schemes referred to in clauses (i), (iii) and (v) of that sub-regulation, may also be accepted by an authorised bank, in accordance with the provisions contained in the respective Schedules.

A deposit made by an authorised dealer with his branch, head office or correspondent outside India, and a deposit made by a branch or correspondent outside India of an authorised dealer, and held in his books in India, shall be governed by the directions issued by the Reserve Bank in this regard from time to time.

1)A company registered under Companies Act, 1956 or a body corporate or created under an act of Parliament or State Legislature may accept deposits from a nonresident Indian on repatriation basis, subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in Schedule 6.

2)An Indian company, a proprietorship concern or a firm in India may accept deposits from a non-resident Indian on non-repatriation basis, subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in Schedule 7.

1)Subject to compliance with the conditions in regard to raising of external commercial borrowings or raising of resources through American Depository Receipts (ADRs) or Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), the funds so raised may, pending their utilisation or repatriation to India, be held in deposits in foreign currency accounts with a bank outside India.

2)Deposits accepted by an Indian company by issue of Commercial Paper to a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Corporate Body shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:

1. the issue is in due compliance with the Non-Banking Companies (Acceptance of Deposits through Commercial Paper) Directions, 1989 issued by the Reserve Bank as also any other law, rule, directions, orders issued by the Government or any other regulatory authority, in regard to acceptance of deposits by issue of Commercial Paper;

2. payment for issue of Commercial Paper is received by the issuing company by inward remittance from outside India through normal banking channels or out of funds held in a deposit account maintained by a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Corporate Body in accordance with the Regulations made by Reserve Bank in that regard;

3. the amount invested in Commercial Paper shall not be eligible for repatriation outside India; and

4. the Commercial Paper shall not be transferable.

With the prior approval of Reserve Bank, an authorised dealer may open an account expressed in foreign currency in the name of a person resident outside India for the purpose of adjustment of value of goods imported into India against the value of goods exported from India in terms of an arrangement voluntarily entered into by such person with a person resident in India.

Authorised dealers may provide nomination facility in respect of the following deposit accounts:

1. accounts maintained by individual account holders under the NRE, FCNR(B), NRO, NRNR and NRSR Account Schemes; and

2. accounts maintained by diplomatic personnel under sub-regulations (1),(2) and (3) of Regulation 4.