The Reserve Bank of India has issued two circulars on forex derivatives involving the rupee. For context, our feed shows USD to INR at Rs 94.94, and the rate moves through the day. The threshold for hedging contracted exposure without establishing the underlying exposure falls from USD 100 million to USD 5 million equivalent, and contracts above USD 2 million equivalent need a 20 percent cash reserve.
The release is dated 10 October 2026. It does not give a separate effective date for each measure, so read the circular text on rbi.org.in for the operative date of each one.
What changed
The table uses only the wording of the RBI press release. Where the release does not state the earlier position, the table says so.
| Measure | Before | After | Effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebooking of cancelled INR derivative contracts | Not stated in the release | Authorised Dealers shall not permit rebooking of an INR contract, deliverable or non-deliverable, cancelled with any Authorised Dealer after the Directions. Rollover on maturity is still permitted. | Circulars issued 10 October 2026; no separate date in the release |
| Threshold for forex derivatives hedging contracted exposure without establishing underlying exposure | USD 100 million equivalent | USD 5 million equivalent, across all Authorised Dealers | As above |
| Threshold for exchange-traded currency derivatives involving INR without underlying exposure | USD 100 million | USD 5 million equivalent, across recognised stock exchanges taken together | As above |
| Undertaking on underlying exposure | Not stated in the release | Authorised Dealers must obtain and retain an undertaking that the same underlying exposure has not been hedged with any other Authorised Dealer | As above |
| Foreign Exchange Risk Reserve (FERR) | Not stated in the release | Cash reserve with the RBI of 20 percent of the INR equivalent of the notional amount, for INR derivative contracts above USD 2 million equivalent that hedge current account exposures where the user buys foreign currency against INR | As above |
Try it: USD to INR Converter lets you enter a dollar amount and shows the rupee value at our stored FX rate, with a 30 day chart.
Who it affects
The measures apply to Authorised Dealer banks, which must obtain the undertakings and maintain the FERR, and to users who enter into foreign exchange derivative contracts involving the rupee, including those who hedge current account exposures. The second threshold also covers positions in exchange-traded currency derivatives involving INR.
Latest Rs 94.94 (30 Oct 2026)High Rs 96.82 (9 Oct 2026)Low Rs 93.55 (26 Aug 2026)
The chart shows our stored USD to INR daily rate for the last 90 days. It describes past records only, not a forecast, and it does not measure any effect of these circulars. You can run your own amounts through the USD to INR converter.
Currency rates from our FX records, with the inverse. Source: TrackLivePrice FX records (daily feed).
| Currency | 1 unit in rupees | Rs 1 buys |
|---|---|---|
| INR | Rs 1.00 | 1.0000 INR |
| AED | Rs 25.95 | 0.0385 AED |
| GBP | Rs 127.20 | 0.0079 GBP |
| EUR | Rs 106.36 | 0.0094 EUR |
| SGD | Rs 74.40 | 0.0134 SGD |
Mid-market reference rates, 31 Oct 2026 | Source: open.er-api.com. Banks and money changers add a margin.
The table gives the rupee against other major currencies from our FX records, for comparison. For any other pair, use the Currency Converter.
What to do
- Ask your Authorised Dealer whether any INR derivative contract you cancelled earlier can still be rebooked. The release says rebooking is not permitted; rollover at maturity is.
- Compare each planned hedge with the USD 5 million and USD 2 million levels, because they trigger different rules: the threshold for hedging without underlying exposure, and the FERR.
- Keep documents that show the underlying exposure, since your bank must obtain and keep an undertaking that the same exposure is not hedged with another Authorised Dealer.
- Read Circular No. 25 and Circular No. 26 on rbi.org.in for the operative wording before you deal.
What has not changed
The release says rollover of foreign exchange derivative contracts on maturity continues to be permitted, subject to the existing rules.
Common mistakes
- Reading the USD 5 million figure as a cap on all hedging. The release describes it as the threshold for transactions taken without establishing the underlying exposure.
- Assuming the FERR applies to every forex contract. The release limits it to INR contracts above USD 2 million equivalent that hedge current account purchases of foreign currency.
- Waiting for a separate effective date in the press release. The release does not give one for each measure.
