RBI has issued a Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Non-resident Investment in Debt Instruments) Directions, 2025. These Directions shall be applicable with immediate effect. These Directions shall be applicable to all transactions by eligible non-residents in debt instruments.
The following shall be the channels for investment in debt instruments by nonresidents:
- General Route for investment in Government securities and corporate debt securities by FPIs subject to specified investment limits and macroprudential limits;
- Voluntary Retention Route for investments in Government securities and corporate debt securities, free of certain macro-prudential limits applicable to FPI investments in debt markets under the General Route, by FPIs that commit to remain invested for a stipulated retention period;
- Fully Accessible Route for investments by non-residents in certain specified categories of Central Government securities (‘specified securities’) without any restriction; and
- Scheme for Trading and Settlement of Sovereign Green Bonds issued by the Central Government by eligible foreign investors in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
