Voluntary Retention Route - Imparting predictability and increasing ease of doing business

RBI/2025-26/205
A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 21

February 06, 2026

To

All Authorised Dealer Category-I banks
 

Madam / Sir,
 

Voluntary Retention Route – Imparting predictability and increasing ease of doing business
 

Please refer to Paragraph 15 of the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies announced as a part of the Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2025-26 dated February 06, 2026, on the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) for FPI investments in debt instruments. Attention of Authorised Dealer Category-I (AD Category-I) banks is invited to Schedule 1 to the Foreign Exchange Management (Debt Instruments) Regulations, 2019 notified, vide Notification No. FEMA. 396/2019-RB dated October 17, 2019 and the Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Non-resident Investment in Debt Instruments) Directions, 2025 dated January 07, 2025 (hereinafter “Master Direction”), as amended from time to time.
 

2. On a review, it has been decided to make the following changes to the regulatory framework governing investments under the VRR:
 

1. The investment limits under the VRR shall be subsumed under the investment limit for FPI investments under the General Route. Accordingly, all investments through VRR in Central Government securities (including Treasury Bills), State Government Securities and corporate debt securities shall be reckoned under the investment limit for the respective securities under the General Route; and

2. FPIs that have availed retention periods longer than the minimum retention period stipulated in the Directions shall have the option of liquidating their portfolio, fully or partly, and exiting the VRR after the end of the minimum retention period.
    

3. These Directions shall come into force with effect from April 01, 2026. All existing investments under VRR on April 01, 2026, shall be transferred to the respective investment limits under the General Route. The amendments being made to the Master Direction are placed at Annex herewith.
 

4. AD Category – I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned.
 

5. The Directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/approval, if any, required under any other law.

 

Yours faithfully,

(Dimple Bhandia)
Chief General Manager