Many Indian parents want to help their children buy a home abroad. However, transferring large sums of money across borders comes with strict Reserve Bank of India rules.

A recent report explains how families can legally send funds overseas using the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS):

• Every resident Indian can send up to $250,000 per financial year to buy property abroad.
• Both parents can combine their limits to send up to $500,000 together in a single year.
• The transfer can be set up as a gift or a loan, though standard TCS rules still apply to foreign remittances.
• For more expensive homes, the NRI child can pay the remaining amount using their own income earned abroad.
• All transfers must go through an Authorised Dealer bank to follow FEMA rules.

Read more: https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/buying-property-abroad-for-your-nri-child-know-how-much-parents-can-transfer-and-what-tax-rules-apply-11790656555960.html

Have you ever used the LRS route to send money abroad for property?

Most Indian families living overseas are only one or two generations into their journey. But 180 years ago, thousands of Indians moved to Trinidad, giving us a rare look at what actually happens to a family's culture over six generations.

The history reveals that while everyday languages faded over time, the identity didn't disappear; it evolved. In 1936, an Indian family started serving curried channa on fried bara, creating "doubles," which became Trinidad’s national breakfast. Folk songs blended with local rhythms to form Chutney music, and Diwali grew into a national holiday.

However, the story also carries a warning. Today, many sixth-generation descendants have to search through 180-year-old ship manifests in national archives just to learn the name of their ancestral village, simply because family records were never written down.

Culture naturally adapts to new places, but family history, records, and core stories must be intentionally passed down today if you want the next generation to hold onto their roots.

Read the full article here: https://thecapitalbybelong.substack.com/p/what-180-years-in-trinidad-tell-every?r=8fe3vx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

What is one piece of family history or tradition you are making sure gets passed down?

For wealthy Indian families wanting to invest globally, Gujarat's GIFT City seems like the perfect setup. It offers a special "Family Investment Fund" so they can manage foreign assets without ever leaving the country.

However, a massive roadblock is stopping their true global expansion. The issue is not with GIFT City's rules, but with strict money transfer limits set by the Reserve Bank of India.

To use this new setup, families must first move their wealth from mainland India into the offshore zone. Right now, individuals can only send a maximum of $250,000 per year overseas.

At the same time, Indian companies are limited to investing just 50% of their net worth abroad. This creates a frustrating reality for ultra-rich families trying to build large global portfolios.

They have the perfect investment vehicle, but they cannot legally transfer enough of their own money to fuel it. Until these limits are relaxed, running a truly global family office from India remains very difficult.

Read more: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/gift-city-has-rules-for-family-offices-to-go-global-but-capital-controls-remain-a-hurdle/article71536769.ece

Will easing these money transfer limits help GIFT City become the top global hub for family offices?

In a recent conversation, Kalpen Parekh, CEO of DSP Mutual Fund, highlighted a major flaw in how investors approach international markets. While passive index funds remain widely popular, these instruments carry a structural risk that often gets overlooked.

Buying a massive global index today essentially means purchasing a concentrated basket of current market favorites. Because these indexes weight companies by market size, a huge portion of capital flows directly into tech, semiconductor, and artificial intelligence stocks that may already trade well above fair value.

Market leadership constantly rotates across decades. Energy and consumer goods once dominated the top ranks of global indexes, whereas technology leads today. Passively tracking an index often forces investors to buy market winners far too late in the growth cycle.

A disciplined approach focuses instead on identifying fundamentally strong global companies trading at reasonable valuations. For example, the DSP global equity fund completely avoids international banks because overseas loan books remain opaque and difficult to evaluate, preferring businesses with transparent capital efficiency.

International investing works best when complementing an existing domestic portfolio rather than chasing recent market euphoria. Allocating roughly 20% to 25% provides meaningful global diversification without creating panic during sudden foreign market downturns.

Watch the full podcast here: https://youtu.be/uOxi6FJv6nU

Are global index funds really as safe as investors think? 

State Bank of India is currently developing a specialized suite of products designed specifically for Non-Resident Indians through its branch at Gujarat's GIFT City. The main goal of this initiative is to make global banking and investing significantly easier and more rewarding for Indians living abroad.

Because GIFT City operates under distinct offshore regulations, it functions as a completely separate lane within India's financial system. Transactions here are handled in major foreign currencies like the US Dollar, British Pound, and Euro, allowing overseas workers to invest back home without exposing their money to local currency depreciation.

Currently, the bank’s International Banking Unit is aggressively attracting capital by offering highly competitive rates. Overseas residents can earn up to 4.95% on standard US Dollar term deposits. For larger deposits exceeding $1 million, the bank is offering even higher returns, making it a very attractive alternative to traditional onshore fixed deposits.

This offshore setup also provides unique advantages for business owners and high-net-worth individuals. Beyond basic fixed deposits, the unit supports complex transactions like External Commercial Borrowings, foreign currency trade finance, and overseas direct investments, all managed within a tax-efficient environment.

By building this specialized infrastructure, the bank hopes to capture a significant portion of the global Indian diaspora's wealth, giving them a safer, more profitable way to maintain strong financial ties with their home country.

Will earning tax-free dollar returns in an Indian offshore hub encourage more overseas workers to move their savings away from traditional local accounts?

Source: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/money-and-banking/sbi-developing-gift-city-specific-products-fornri-customers-says-chairman-setty/article71516604.ece

Many overseas workers see a falling rupee as a great opportunity to send more money back to India. While a weak currency does boost the immediate value of a remittance, it quietly reduces the long-term returns on those investments.

For anyone earning in dollars, pounds, or dirhams, investing in the Indian market carries a hidden currency risk. If an Indian asset generates a twelve percent return but the rupee drops by four percent over the year, the actual return in dollar terms is only about eight percent.

Before sending more capital back home, it is crucial to measure existing exposure to the Indian economy. Most overseas residents already hold significant local assets like inherited property, family businesses, insurance policies, and mutual funds.

The decision to invest further should depend heavily on where the funds will ultimately be spent. Someone planning to retire entirely in India naturally needs more rupee-based savings, whereas those anticipating frequent international trips require strong foreign currency reserves.

Instead of treating Indian markets as the only option, investors should compare local returns against global opportunities. Emerging options like dollar-denominated private equity or venture capital in specialized zones like GIFT City offer new ways to invest without taking on direct currency risk.

Read the full article here: https://www.outlookmoney.com/invest/the-nri-india-investment-conundrum-when-weak-rupee-creates-an-illusion-of-wealth

Are currency fluctuations quietly eating away at cross-border investment returns?

Sundaram India Mid Cap Fund - GIFT now holds $22.7 million from NRIs, five months after its launch in GIFT City.

Assets more than doubled between June ($10.87 million) and August 2026. Over the same period, the fund went from building its position to being almost fully invested.

What changed between March and August:

👉 Deployment: Allocation to the underlying fund rose from 82.85% to 98.08%. Cash fell from 17.15% to 1.92%.

👉 Market cap: Large-cap weight rose from 10.1% to 14.0%. Mid caps eased from 69.8% to 67.1% and remain the core of the portfolio.

👉 Top holdings: Coforge and IDFC First Bank entered the Top 10 at 2.20% each, along with Max Financial Services at 1.90%. BSE and Jindal Steel moved out.

👉 Sectors: Capital Markets rose from 4.76% to 6.34%, and Consumer Durables from 5.16% to 6.66%. Industrial Products fell from 8.34% to 6.67%.

The full 5-month breakdown is in the infographic below.

Download the u/Belong app to learn more.

Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully.

September brought several developments worth knowing if you manage money across India and global markets.

In Issue #19 of The Capital, we break down the month’s key changes across USD deposits, interest rates, currency and GIFT City, followed by what’s new on Belong.

💵 The RBI’s special FCNR(B) window drew nearly $133 billion from NRIs, almost twice the initial estimate.

🇺🇸 The US Fed raised rates by 25 bps, taking its target range to 3.75–4%.

₹ The rupee crossed ₹96/$ before closing at ₹95.62/$ on September 22.

🌎 New GIFT City investment options from HDFC, Marcellus and Edelweiss are now available.

📉 PPFAS reduced the minimum investment for its GIFT City S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 funds from $5,000 to $500.

📊 GIFT Nifty Futures are now live on Belong, alongside new features including Futures P&L tracking, AI Market Trends and simpler withdrawals.

And a milestone we’re proud of: Belong has crossed $20 million in AUM, with investors across 20+ countries. 🚀

Read Issue #19 of The Capital for the full September update, what these developments mean for NRIs, and a quick checklist to review your finances this month.

Read the full issue →

https://thecapitalbybelong.substack.com/p/the-september-nri-update-what-changed?r=8fe3vx&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

For years, Non-Resident Indians faced major roadblocks when trying to invest back in their home country. The process involved endless paperwork, frustrating banking rules, and the constant headache of double taxation.

On top of that, Indian investments were made in rupees, which consistently lost value against the dollar. Over the last decade, the Indian rupee depreciated by roughly 3.5 percent every year, quietly eating away at investment returns.

To solve these massive structural problems, the government set up Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, commonly known as GIFT City. This special economic zone acts as an offshore financial hub right inside India, designed specifically to attract foreign capital by completely removing traditional banking hurdles.

Because it operates as an offshore zone, investments made through GIFT City are entirely in foreign currencies like the US dollar. This protects the money from currency depreciation and eliminates the complicated need for specialized local bank accounts.

Additionally, many investments made through this zone are completely exempt from Indian taxes. Overseas workers no longer have to worry about upfront tax deductions or fighting for refunds in their home country while also paying taxes abroad.

Recent regulation updates even allow for digital video verification for overseas workers. This means people can now set up their investments completely online from anywhere in the world without ever needing to mail physical documents or visit a bank branch.

Read the full story here: https://youtu.be/_HfLxS0XQ0M?si=XYi7WZdSHBkjdZ3u

Will offshore financial zones finally make cross-border investing as easy as ordering food online?

The Unique Identification Authority of India is currently developing plans to make the Aadhaar platform accessible internationally. The main goal of this initiative is to create a seamless digital identity system for Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizens of India.

Officials recently announced that the legal framework is being updated to support global interoperability. By removing barriers to entry, the government hopes to encourage more overseas citizens to invest directly in the Indian economy.

Currently, the rules differ significantly based on residential status. For Non-Resident Indians holding a valid Indian passport, the application process is already quite flexible, as the standard 182-day residency requirement is completely waived upon arrival.

However, Overseas Citizens of India face much stricter rules and are treated similarly to resident foreign nationals. They must physically live in India for at least 182 days within the twelve months immediately prior to submitting an application.

Additionally, there is still no online application method available for anyone. All applicants, regardless of their status, must physically visit an authorized enrollment center within India to complete the required biometric verification process.

Alongside these global expansion plans, the issuing authority is heavily deploying Artificial Intelligence to detect and prevent fraud. Daily authentications have risen dramatically, and the infrastructure is being prepared to handle up to 30 crore daily verifications.

Read the full article here: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/uidai-plans-to-take-aadhaar-global-what-are-current-rules-for-nris-and-oci-cardholders-11789804614313.html

Will making biometric enrollment available at international embassies encourage more overseas workers to maintain strong financial ties with their home country?

Invest across global markets through GIFT City with two new HDFC funds on Belong!

Resident Indians and NRIs can now invest in global leaders across Emerging and Developed markets through India's international financial centre, GIFT City.

1**.** HDFC International Developed Markets Equity Fund:

Holds companies like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, in developed markets like the US, Japan, the UK etc.

Benchmarked against the MSCI World Index.

2**.** HDFC International Emerging Markets Equity Fund:

Holds companies like TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK hynix, spread across emerging economies like Taiwan, South Korea, India, etc.

Benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

👉 Investment details (common to both):

- Minimum investment: USD 5,000
- Additional investment: USD 500
- Expense ratio: 1% (Regular)

- Taxation: Tax for both funds is applied at the fund level (there is no investor-level tax applied by the funds, and the NAV shown is net of all taxes)

Explore the funds and add global equity exposure to your portfolio on the Belong app: https://getbelong.com/

Every year, Kerala receives massive amounts of money sent home by people working abroad. Remittances touch around Rs 2.17 lakh crore annually, while non-resident deposits hold nearly Rs 3 lakh crore.

Despite having all this capital, a major problem currently exists. Most of this money just goes into buying land, building houses, or repaying old loans.

Meanwhile, those large bank deposits are often lent out to borrowers across the rest of India. Experts recently pointed out that Kerala does not actually lack money, but rather lacks a safe, reliable way to invest these funds into local businesses.

To solve this, the state announced a new partnership scheme in the 2026-27 budget to create better investment channels. Financial experts say that for any new investment product to succeed, the original money must be completely secure.

These investments must also offer better returns than regular bank deposits and allow easy withdrawals. To make this work, the state needs to build highly professional projects and connect with major industry groups.

Read the full article here: https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2026/Sep/18/kerala-needs-a-credible-mechanism-to-attract-nri-investments-experts

Will secure investment channels finally encourage overseas workers to invest directly in local state businesses?

Moving back to India after spending years overseas is often expected to be a joyful reunion. However, for many returning expats, the reality is far more difficult than anticipated.

A recent post from an NRI who returned from the US six months ago highlights the real struggle of this transition. The individual moved back to take care of aging parents but quickly realized that the familiar life they left behind no longer exists.

Old friends have moved on, schedules are busy, and attempts to reconnect often feel one-sided. This creates a deep sense of loneliness and a feeling of no longer belonging in the homeland.

The returning expat admitted to constantly thinking about the previous life in the US, missing the daily routine and personal independence. Online readers pointed out that six months is simply not enough time to overcome reverse culture shock.

Many commenters advised that readapting requires actively building new connections rather than expecting old friendships to continue exactly as before. They warned that constantly comparing the current reality to a past life abroad only makes the transition much harder.

Read the full story here: https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/i-dont-belong-here-nris-confession-after-6-months-back-in-india-from-us-12068446

Does moving back home require completely starting over rather than just picking up where things left off?

Non-Resident Indians often hold two types of bank accounts in India to manage different income sources. An NRO account is used for local earnings like rent and dividends, which are fully taxable.

An NRE account is meant for foreign earnings and allows tax-free, unrestricted transfers abroad. Because funds in an NRE account can be moved outside India at any time, shifting money from an NRO account to an NRE account comes with strict conditions.

The Reserve Bank of India allows this transfer, but caps the amount at $1 million per financial year. This $1 million is a combined limit covering both transfers to an NRE account and direct remittances sent overseas.

Before any transfer happens, all taxes on the Indian income must be fully cleared. Banks require mandatory paperwork, including Form 145 and a Chartered Accountant-certified Form 146, to ensure tax compliance.

Missing these forms will cause the bank to reject the transfer request entirely. Understanding this process saves a lot of time and prevents unnecessary tax complications.

Read the full article here: https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/nris-can-transfer-money-from-nro-to-nre-account-but-what-is-the-annual-limit-check-details-here-11789837058774.html

Does the mandatory paperwork make maintaining local Indian income too difficult for overseas workers?

When most people think of a standard Western wedding, they picture a six-hour event: one venue, one dinner, a seating chart, and everyone home by midnight. But behind the scenes, the global wedding industry is quietly abandoning that model and adopting an Indian blueprint instead.

Mainstream Western companies are adapting in ways that would have seemed unimaginable a few decades ago. David’s Bridal, one of America’s largest bridal chains, now publishes official guides to the Haldi, Mehendi, Sangeet, and Pheras to explain what non-Indian guests should wear and expect. Down in Mexico, destination wedding photographers and vendors explicitly advertise packages covering full ceremonies from the Haldi all the way to the Vidaai.

This shift became visible through high-profile cross-cultural weddings like Katy Perry flying 80 guests to a Rajasthan resort for a week of celebrations, or Elizabeth Hurley’s eight-day traditional wedding. But what started with celebrities has rapidly spread into mainstream consumer behavior.

The numbers behind this shift are massive. India hosts roughly 10 million weddings a year, four to five times as many as the United States, in a wedding market worth about $130 billion, making it India's second-largest consumer category after food and groceries.

As the global destination wedding market surges from $39.2 billion in 2024 toward a projected $171.1 billion by 2033, venues worldwide are realizing that the multi-day, immersive format India perfected is the fastest-growing trend in the business.

At its core, the change isn't just about scale or spending. A six-hour dinner with a strict seating chart rarely turns a room full of strangers into relatives. A days-long celebration, however, gives guests the time, shared rituals, and warmth required to actually build lasting connection.

Read the full story here: https://thecapitalbybelong.substack.com/p/why-the-west-secretly-started-copying?r=8fe3vx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Are there other local customs that turned into huge global trends?

For Non-Resident Indians, setting up investment accounts back home has traditionally meant dealing with endless paperwork, international couriers, and physical signatures. However, a major change is currently underway that could make this entire process fully digital.

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has started a pilot program to test unassisted face authentication for NRIs across four international jurisdictions. This new system relies on a person's existing Aadhaar footprint to verify their identity instantly.

If this pilot works out, an overseas investor could finish the entire Know Your Customer (KYC) process on their own, without needing external help or sending physical documents. The main goal is to make cross-border account opening completely paperless.

This test is part of a larger plan to turn GIFT City into a global wealth management hub. By removing the usual roadblocks of cross-border KYC and payments, the IFSCA wants to make it much easier for the Indian diaspora to invest globally and directly into India.

With NRIs sending over $140 billion back to India last year, the potential pool of investment money is huge. Several major banks, including the State Bank of India and HSBC, have already started setting up dedicated wealth management units in the region to support these overseas investors.

Read the full article here: https://www.business-standard.com/finance/news/ifsca-pilots-aadhaar-face-authentication-to-ease-cross-border-kyc-for-nris-126091101274_1.html

If the international paperwork completely disappeared tomorrow, would you be more likely to open an investment account in GIFT City?

The BRICS grouping recently adopted the 140-point New Delhi Declaration, finalizing common positions on trade, terrorism, artificial intelligence, and institutional reform. Set against a backdrop of geopolitical fragmentation and rising global tariffs, reaching a unanimous consensus among the diverse member nations was considered a significant diplomatic achievement.

For the Indian diaspora, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), the summit yielded several important developments regarding financial infrastructure and diplomatic security. The declaration steered clear of announcing a unified BRICS currency, focusing instead on promoting trade settlements and investments using the local currencies of member nations.

• The BRICS Payment Task Force is actively studying how the payment and messaging systems of member countries can be integrated more smoothly.
• The ultimate stated objective is to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more accessible, and significantly safer.
• Members expressed interest in advancing discussions on an Indian proposal to establish a BRICS Risk Lab at the GIFT City International Financial Services Centre in Gujarat.
• A repository for digital public infrastructure (DPI) has also been proposed to undertake pilot projects across member countries.

The summit also produced strong, India-specific outcomes that validate the country's long-standing diplomatic and security priorities. In a major diplomatic victory, the declaration specifically condemned the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in the "strongest terms".

The declaration further positioned the bloc as a collective voice for the Global South by pushing back against Western economic policies. The grouping condemned "unilateral coercive measures" and unjustified protectionist tariffs that conflict with World Trade Organization rules.

• The declaration expressed deep concern over escalating tensions in the Middle East, calling for maximum restraint, maintaining the Gaza ceasefire, and ensuring unhindered humanitarian access.
• The bloc addressed artificial intelligence as a major economic opportunity for the Global South, calling for wider access to AI resources while ensuring the technology remains reliable and safe.
• It explicitly opposed carbon border adjustment mechanisms when they are used as punitive or protectionist environmental policies.

Sources:
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/brics-new-delhi-summit-declaration-key-takeaways-10875050/
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/terror-tariffs-ai-what-are-the-key-takeaways-from-brics-new-delhi-declaration-101789266163962.html

If cross-border payment systems become fully integrated across member nations, will traditional international remittance channels become entirely obsolete?