As many as nine special vostro accounts by Russian banks have been opened with two Indian banks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave its permission to do so to facilitate settlement of international trade in rupee. It will pave the way for the settlement of India's trade with Russia in rupees. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said, "Nine accounts have been opened. One in UCO Bank, one in Sberbank, one in VTB and six with IndusInd Bank". Russia's top two banks Sberbank and VTB Bank ­emerged as the first foreign lenders to receive the

approval. Russia's Gazprom, which does not have its branches in India, has also opened this account with state run UCO Bank.

The RBI Had In July Notified The New Mechanism To Settle International Trade In Rupees To Reduce The Depreciation Of The Rupee Against The Dollar

"We want to promote rupee trade because that is in the nation's interest. We would also not be looking unnecessarily for dollars. To the extent, rupee trade is possible, we will go for it", Barthwal told reporters here.The RBI had in July notified the new mechanism to settle international trade in rupees to reduce the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. Subsequently, the commerce ministry notified guidelines that will enable exporters to get stipulated benefits under the foreign trade policy even if the export realization is in the domestic currency, and not dollar.