I am from the US and I was hoping to make a open a couple saving accounts! I heard the interest rate is somewhere around 7-10%? I would love to add that into my investment portfolio. I figured it be easier to transfer from USD to RU INR by using bitcoins as the medium.
Thank you for that clarification. Am an Indian living in USA and i have come across this question a number of times from my american friends and colleagues, so let me pitch in. They comeup to me with an idea of taking a personal loan here in USA (which you get at a nominal interest rate of ~ 3 - 6%) and then keep it as deposit in India at 9% earning an income of ~3 - 5% which is completely legit and many people do that.
Yes you are correct. The interest rates offered by Indian banks to deposits are at the rate of 8 - 9% depending upon the bank. These banks are either owned by Govt / regulated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (Hence protection to your principle is similar to FDIC insured in USA.)
RBI is the governing body something similar to FDIC and Federal Reserve in USA.
However, the catch is that you need to be an Indian citizen to open any bank account and the interest earned on your principle is taxable in India.
RBI is strict in regulation and it is quite difficult to get around that.
If you are looking for heavy investments, some of the other ways that i have seen people do is (but am not sure how it works)
1) They visit India on Business / Work visa, open Foreign Currency account and make deposits.
2) Partner with an Indian citizen or an Indian investment company who will manage your portfolio on your behalf.
3) Reachout to global banks like Citibank and HSBC to check if they can offer something for you as they have presence in India as well. I have even heard that citibank provides you with IRS Form-1099 for the interest earned in India so that you can file taxes here in USA. (Yes. US and India have an active tax treaty).
4) Apply for Dual citizenship (US and India)
5) Or finally Marry an Indian.
Hope this helps.!
