HomeCirculars › RBI/2025-26/20

FPI Debt Investment Limits for FY 2025-26 Announced

No longer current — replaced by A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 23 – Limits for investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) for FY 2026-27
Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2025-26/20 · issued 03 Apr 2025 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI has kept FPI investment limits unchanged at 6% for G-Secs, 2% for SGSs, and 15% for corporate bonds for FY 2025-26. Absolute limits are revised upward in two half-yearly tranches, and an additional CDS notional limit of ₹2,93,612 crore is set for the year.

What changed

The circular confirms that the percentage limits for FPI investment in government securities, state government securities, and corporate bonds remain at 6%, 2%, and 15% respectively for FY 2025-26. Absolute limits have been revised upward in two half-yearly tranches: for April-September 2025 and October-March 2026. The allocation of incremental G-Sec limit between General and Long-term sub-categories stays at 50:50, and the entire increase in SGS limits has been added to the General sub-category.

What it means for you

Banks and authorized dealers can expect continued FPI inflows into Indian debt markets with predictable limits. The unchanged percentage caps provide stability, while the phased increase in absolute limits offers a clear roadmap for liquidity management. The CDS limit of ₹2,93,612 crore allows FPIs to hedge credit risk, potentially deepening the corporate bond market.

Historical instruction — do not use for current compliance. This is what was required at the time; it no longer reflects current RBI requirements. If no replacement rule is linked above, that only means none is recorded on our register yet — it does not prove no later applicable rule exists. Confirm on the official RBI source below.

What banks were required to do at the time

Who it affects

Authorized Dealer Category-I banks, Foreign Portfolio Investors, Custodian banks handling FPI debt investments, Corporate bond issuers and market makers

❓ Common questions

Regulatory timeline

Built from our lineage records — each fact carries its provenance; missing history simply is not shown (never guessed).

Are the FPI investment limits for FY 2025-26 different from the previous year?

No, the percentage limits remain unchanged at 6% for G-Secs, 2% for SGSs, and 15% for corporate bonds. However, the absolute limits have been revised upward in two half-yearly tranches.

What is the new CDS limit for FPIs in FY 2025-26?

The aggregate notional amount of Credit Default Swaps sold by FPIs is set at 5% of the outstanding stock of corporate bonds, which translates to an additional limit of ₹2,93,612 crore for the year.

How are the incremental G-Sec limits allocated between sub-categories?

The allocation of incremental changes in the G-Sec limit remains at 50:50 between the 'General' and 'Long-term' sub-categories for FY 2025-26.

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Superseded by A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 23 – Limits for investment by Foreign Portfolio I
📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
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(DIR Series) Circular No. 01 April 03, 2025 To, All Authorized Persons Madam / Sir Limits for investment in debt and sale of Credit Default Swaps by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) 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 as amended from time to time and the relevant Directions issued thereunder. 2. Reference is also invited to the following directions issued by the Reserve Bank: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 23 dated February 10, 2022 ; A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 03 dated April 26, 2024 ; and Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Non-resident Investment in Debt Instruments) Directions, 2025 dated January 07, 2025 . 3. Investment Limits for the financial year 2025-26: a) The limits for FPI investment in Government Securities (G-Secs), State Government Securities (SGSs) and corporate bonds shall remain unchanged at 6 per cent, 2 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, of the outstanding stocks of securities for 2025-26. b) As hitherto, all investments by eligible investors in the ‘specified securities’ shall be reckoned under the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) in terms of Master Direction - Reserve Bank of India (Non-resident Investment in Debt Instruments) Directions, 2025 dated January 07, 2025 . c) The allocation of incremental changes in the G-Sec limit (in absolute terms) over the two sub-categories – ‘General’ and ‘Long-term’ – shall be retained at 50:50 for 2025-26. d) The entire increase in limits for SGSs (in absolute terms) has been added to the ‘General’ sub-category of SGSs. 4. The revised limits (in absolute terms) for the different categories, are in Table 1 : Table - 1: Investment limits for FY 2025-26 all figures in ₹ Crore G-Sec General G-Sec Long Term SGS General SGS Long Term Corporate Bonds Total Debt Current FPI limits 2,68,984 1,37,984 1,17,752 7,100 7,63,503 12,95,323 Revised limit for the HY Apr 2025-Sept 2025 2,79,236 1,48,236 1,26,248 7,100 8,22,169 13,82,989 Revised limit for the HY Oct 2025-Mar 2026 2,89,488 1,58,488 1,34,744 7,100 8,80,835 14,70,654 5. In terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 23 dated February 10, 2022 , the aggregate limit of the notional amount of Credit Default Swaps sold by FPIs shall be 5 per cent of the outstanding stock of corporate bonds. Accordingly, an additional limit of ₹2,93,612 crore is set out for 2025-26. 6. AD Category – I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned. 7. 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) without prejudice to permissions/approval, if any, required under any other law. 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Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2025-26/20 · issued 03 Apr 2025. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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