Types of Foreign Accounts in India

Tourists from abroad during their short visit to India are entitled to open a Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee (NRO) account with any authorised Dealer bank dealing in foreign exchange.
Such an account can be opened for a maximum period of six months. Tourists can easily make local payments through the NRO account.
All payments to residents more than an amount of 50,000 can be made only through cheques or pay orders or demand drafts.
NRO accounts may be opened or maintained in the form of current, savings, recurring or fixed deposit accounts.
Interest rates offered by banks on NRO deposits cannot be higher than those offered by them on comparable domestic rupee deposits. Account should be denominated in Indian Rupees.
Non resident Indians or any person of Indian origin may remit from the balances held in NRO account containing an amount which shall not exceed 1 million dollars every financial year, subject to payment of applicable taxes.
The limit of 1 million dollars every financial year includes sale proceeds of immovable properties held by NRIs and PIOs.

NRE account may be in the form of savings, current, recurring or fixed deposit accounts. The account will be maintained in Indian Rupees.
Accrued interest income and balances held in NRE accounts are exempt from Income tax.
Authorized banks may allow for a period of equal to or less than 2 weeks the overdrawing in savings accounts NRE up to a limit of fifty thousand.
Loans can be allowed till hundred lakh rupees against the security of funds held in NRE Account either to the depositors or third parties.

FCNR accounts mainly are of term deposits which range from one to five years. The account can be in any convertible currency.
Loans can be allowed till hundred lakh rupees against the security of funds which are present in the FCNR deposit to the depositors or third parties.
The interest rates are regulated by the DBOD (Department of Banking Operations and Development), RBI.

EEFC (Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency Account) is an account maintained in foreign currency with an Authorized Dealer which may be a bank dealing in foreign exchange.
It is a facility provided to the foreign exchange earners, including exporters, to credit 100 % of their foreign exchange earnings to the account.
Thus they would not have to convert foreign exchange into Rupees and vice versa which in turn will minimise the transaction costs.
All categories of foreign exchange earners, such as individuals, companies, etc. who are resident in India, may open EEFC accounts.
Such an account can be held only in the form of a current account on which interest is payable.