Mumbai, July 21 -- Non-resident Indians (NRIs) have poured $17.41 billion into Indian banks through foreign currency non-resident (FCNR) deposits under a new deposit incentive scheme, recording a promising start to the campaign to attract dollars and boost the rupee. Announced on 5 June and rolled out three days later, the scheme allows NRIs to make leveraged deposits and runs till the end of September, with the central bank taking the hedging risk, offering overseas investors the potential to earn up to 14% return on their money. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said its dollar swap facility received a total of $20.72 billion till 17 July, with FCNR-B deposits accounting for the lion's share. Apart from FCNR(B) deposits, the swap window also received $1.97 billion in overseas foreign currency borrowings and $1.34 billion through external commercial borrowings. Commercial banks exchange dollars for rupees at the swap window at guaranteed rates. "The swap facility has seen avid interest and attracted steady forex inflows since June 8, 2026," the RBI said in a press release accompanying the data. The official data comes after weeks of uncertainty over the pace of deposit flows. On Monday, Mint reported that while private sector lenders repeatedly described customer interest as strong during their June-quarter earnings calls, most refrained from disclosing deposit inflows, saying it was too early to provide estimates. On the other hand, public sector banks had begun revealing both collections and targets. Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, termed it a "very healthy start" to the capital inflow scheme. "Given the pace, there could be upside risk to our estimate of overall FCNR-B inflows of $50 billion due to the scheme," she said, adding major flows are likely in August and September. "For ECB, we maintain an additional inflow of $20 billion," Sengupta said. "FY27 BoP surplus is expected to be moderate at $25 billion, and this will help moderate the pace of rupee depreciation," she added. The central bank had introduced the concessional swap window for FCNR as part of a broader package of measures to incentivize capital inflows and strengthen India's balance of payments amid global uncertainties. Under the facility, banks can raise fresh FCNR-B deposits and swap the dollars with the RBI at a concessional rate....