Regulatory desk · RBI document · 18 Sep 2026
Registered foreign portfolio investors rose a net 181 in the year to August 2026; RBI eases their bank checks
The terms this paper uses
What a foreign portfolio investor is. A foreign portfolio investor, or FPI, is an investor based outside India that buys Indian shares, bonds and other securities, and must be registered with SEBI, the markets regulator, to do so. The rule on this card is for the banks that take FPIs on as customers, and it changes what those banks must see before they can.
The other words this paper uses
What a bank's identity check is. Before a bank takes on a customer it must check who the customer is: the Reserve Bank of India's Know Your Customer Directions for commercial banks set out how. One step is getting a certified copy of the customer's identity papers.
What a certified copy normally means. In the Reserve Bank's own words, a bank officer compares the copy with the original document the customer brings in, and records on the copy that the comparison was done. That means the original has to be put in front of the bank.
The route non-residents already had. Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin did not have to do that. For them, a bank could instead accept a copy already certified by one of a list of named officials, so the original never had to reach the bank.
What changed. The Reserve Bank has now extended that same route to foreign portfolio investors, naming them in the rewritten rule as a customer class it covers. The listed certifiers include an authorised official of an overseas branch of an Indian scheduled commercial bank, a branch of an overseas bank that has a relationship with an Indian bank, and the Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the country where the customer lives.
When it applies. The amendment came into force immediately, on the day it was issued, 18 September 2026.
How many foreign portfolio investors there are. SEBI counted 12,201 registered FPIs at the end of August 2026, against 12,020 a year earlier. That is a net rise of 181, or 1.5%: net means new registrations minus investors who left, so the number of new arrivals alone is larger than 181 by however many left.
What the money figures are. Separately, foreign portfolio net investment is the money FPIs put into Indian securities in a month minus what they took out. In August 2026 it was Rs 25,492 crore into all instruments, of which Rs 29,631 crore went into Indian shares; in August 2025 it had been a net outflow of Rs 20,505 crore.
Before
After
Paragraph 5(1)(v) · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
In one line
A foreign portfolio investor can now clear a bank's identity check on papers certified abroad, by an Indian bank's overseas branch, a partner bank or an Indian embassy, the route NRIs already had.
What the paper sets
What does it require, and where does it say it?
RBI extends the facility described in the preceding sentence (it points back to it) to Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).
Where the paper says it · paragraph 1
“The extant instructions have since been reviewed and it has been decided to extend the above facility in case of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).”
The substituted proviso names Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) as a customer class it covers.
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
“Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs),”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
The default meaning of a certified copy: a bank officer compares the customer's Aadhaar-possession proof (where offline verification is not possible) or officially valid document with the original and records that comparison on the copy.
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
“Obtaining the certified copy by the bank shall mean comparing the copy of the proof of possession of Aadhaar number where offline verification cannot be carried out or the officially valid document produced by the customer with the original, and an authorised officer of the bank shall record the comparison on the copy as per the provisions contained in the Act.”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
For the customer classes in the proviso, the bank may instead take an original certified copy certified by one of the authorities listed after it (it points forward to the list).
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
“the bank may alternatively obtain the original certified copy, certified by any one of the following:”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v)
One permitted certifier is an authorised official of an overseas branch of a Scheduled Commercial Bank registered in India.
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (a)
“(a) authorised officials of overseas branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks registered in India,”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (a)
Another permitted certifier is a branch of an overseas bank that has a relationship with an Indian bank.
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (b)
“(b) branches of overseas banks with whom Indian banks have relationships,”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (b)
Another permitted certifier is the Indian Embassy or Consulate General in the country where the non-resident customer lives.
Where the paper says it · paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (f)
“(f) Indian Embassy / Consulate General in the country where the non-resident customer resides.”
Open the paper at paragraph 4(1), substituted paragraph 5(1)(v), item (f)
What we make of it opinion
What do we think this paper does, and why?
India had 12,201 registered foreign portfolio investors at the end of August 2026, a net gain of just 181 in a year, and the Reserve Bank now lets banks sign them up on papers certified abroad, as it already did for NRIs. We can't say yet whether the new certifiers let in investors who could not join before, or only spare investors who would have joined anyway a trip to show their originals; SEBI's monthly count of registered FPIs over the coming months would settle it.
Why we think so3 reasons
On what grounds?
- The first reason is how little the head count moved. A net rise of 181 in a year is 1.5%, and the monthly counts in between drifted up and down in small steps with no single jump, so this is a slow trend rather than one unusual month. The money moved far more: a net Rs 25,492 crore came in during August 2026, against a net Rs 20,505 crore going out in August 2025.
- The second reason is a guess, not a finding. Inferred: with the count moving this slowly, the paperwork of joining may be part of what holds it back, and this rule makes one step of a bank's sign-up easier for FPIs. Neither the rule nor SEBI's figures link the two, so we don't know yet whether it touches FPI registration at all; the count over the coming months would settle it.
- The third is about the rules around it. SEBI has been easing the FPI side in the same weeks, with 'Ease of regulatory compliances for FPIs investing only in Government Securities' and 'Acceptance of digitally signed Power of Attorney from FPIs'. Reading these as one push to make joining easier is a guess: neither regulator's text links its change to the other's.
What would prove us wrong3 trip-wires
What would we have to see to drop that read?
- The count of registered FPIs stays on the same slow drift over the coming months, with the same small ups and downs as the past year. That would mean the paperwork of joining was not what held the count back, and that an easier certified copy changes little about who signs up.
- SEBI or the Reserve Bank says the certified-copy change answers a different problem, such as delays for investors already registered when their papers need renewing. Then the rule is about keeping existing investors' accounts running smoothly rather than bringing new ones in, and the count was never its target.
- Most new FPIs turn out to open their bank accounts through routes this rule does not touch, such as a bank that checks the original papers itself in the usual way. Then the new list of certifiers abroad reaches few investors, and the rule matters less than it reads.
What to watch3 things to watch
What happens next, and when would we know?
- SEBI's monthly count of registered FPIs over the next few bulletins. Over the past year it moved in small steps up and down; a run of larger monthly gains after the rule took effect would be the first sign that the easier sign-up is bringing new investors in.
- Any further Reserve Bank or SEBI change to how foreign portfolio investors are signed up or kept on the books. Another step in the coming months would show that this rule is one part of a wider push to make joining easier, rather than a tidy-up standing on its own.
- Whether monthly net FPI investment keeps swinging between money in and money out while the head count barely moves. If it does, that confirms the money and the number of investors run on separate tracks, and that a rule about joining speaks to the second, not the first.
Who this touches
Who could benefit and who is at risk, and on what condition?
Opinion · adds no figures the Facts do not hold · every effect is potential and states its condition
| Who | Potential effect | How it reaches them | How sure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | ▲ potential benefitif a bank takes foreign portfolio investors on as customers | It can accept a copy certified by its own overseas branch, a partner bank abroad or an Indian embassy, instead of arranging to see the original papers itself, which shortens the sign-up. | Inferred · the rule does not say how many banks sign up FPIs |
| The regulator | ◆ unclearpulls both ways: a smoother sign-up may bring more investors, but the bank no longer sees the original itself; the count of registered FPIs over the coming months would settle it | The Reserve Bank moves part of the identity check out to certifiers abroad, so the check is only as good as the listed certifiers. | Unresolved · the rule is days old |
| Foreign portfolio investors | ▲ potential benefitif a foreign portfolio investor opens an account with an Indian bank | It may send copies of its papers certified abroad, by an authorised official of an overseas branch of an Indian scheduled commercial bank, a branch of an overseas bank with which Indian banks have relationships, or an Indian Embassy or Consulate General, instead of showing the originals, as NRIs and PIOs already could. | Stated · the rule's own paragraph says 'it has been decided to extend the above facility in case of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs)', but not how many will use the route |
The evidence
From RBI's paper, Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer) Amendment Directions, 2026, 18 Sep 2026. The paper.
Also in the paper — what the rule is today, who is covered, and by when
Every line below is quoted from that same paper. Open it.
| Where | What it says | The paper's words |
|---|---|---|
| paragraph 1 | Before this amendment, paragraph 5(1)(v) let banks alternatively take an original certified copy, certified by one of the listed authorities, only for Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin as defined in the FEMA Deposit Regulations, 2016. | “The Directions in paragraph 5(1)(v) allow the banks to alternatively obtain the original certified copy which are certified by any one of the authorities / authorised officials mentioned therein in case of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), as defined in Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2016 {FEMA 5(R)}.” |
| paragraph 3(2) | The amendment takes effect immediately. | “These Directions shall come into force with immediate effect.” |
| Figure | Reading | Date | A year earlier | Where from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign portfolio net investment, all instruments, one month | Rs 25,492 crore | 31 Aug 2026 | +Rs 45,997 crore, against Rs −20,505 crore at 31 Aug 2025 | fpi.nsdl.co.in |
| Foreign portfolio net investment in Indian equity, one month | Rs 29,631 crore | 31 Aug 2026 | +Rs 64,624 crore, against Rs −34,993 crore at 31 Aug 2025 | fpi.nsdl.co.in |
What else we hold on this
We hold 2 other Reserve Bank of India documents on this subject, published between 6 Apr 2026 and 5 Jun 2026 — and none of them has become a card. They are the store's, not the paper's: nothing below is cited by the document above.
- Investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in Government Securities – Amendments to…5 Jun 2026 · no card written
- Limits for investment in debt and sale of Credit Default Swaps by Foreign Portfolio…6 Apr 2026 · no card written
Go deeper
Whether we have said this before
1 of them became a card.
Audit trail: how this card was checked, and the store's own notes
Status: Clear. the rule is issued and every fact is quoted from the Reserve Bank of India's own text
Exact figures: 9 quoted facts from Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Know Your Customer) Amendment Directions, 2026; the warning on every one: none.