RBI’s Portfolio Investment Positions (PIP) by Counterpart Economy – Complete Practical Guide

The Reserve Bank of India has issued an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions on Portfolio Investment Positions (PIP) by Counterpart Economy (formerly CPIS), effective June 01, 2026. This guide rephrases and reorganises those FAQs into a practical, easy-to-follow format for compliance teams in banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, non-banking financial companies, non-financial corporates and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).

1. Background and Objective of PIP

1.1 What is PIP (formerly CPIS)?

The Portfolio Investment Positions (PIP) by Counterpart Economy (formerly CPIS) is a voluntary survey coordinated globally by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The primary objective of PIP is to:

  • Strengthen the quality and comparability of portfolio investment statistics that form part of a country’s international investment position (IIP).
  • Capture holdings of portfolio investment assets in:
    • Equity and investment fund shares
    • Long-term debt securities
    • Short-term debt securities
  • Generate from-whom-to-whom cross-border financial data, by showing which resident sector holds which type of foreign security, issued in which economy.

This framework helps in measuring financial linkages and contagion channels across economies.

1.2 India’s participation and reporting frequency

  • India has been part of the IMF’s PIP (earlier CPIS) since 2004.
  • Initially, the exercise was carried out on an annual basis.
  • In 2014, based on IMF’s G-20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) and India’s commitments under the Special Data Dissemination Standards (SDDS), the country shifted to a semi-annual reporting cycle.
  • The Reserve Bank of India compiles, consolidates and submits India’s PIP data to the IMF.

1.3 Confidentiality of entity-level data

Important: All information submitted by reporting entities under the PIP is treated as confidential.

  • Entity-level details collected in the survey are not shared with the IMF.
  • The RBI transmits only aggregated data, compiled from all reporting entities, to the IMF.

2. Who Has to Report Under PIP and How Often?

2.1 Eligible reporting categories

The following domestic entities fall within the survey coverage at present:

  • Banks
  • Mutual fund companies
  • Insurance companies
  • Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)
  • Non-financial companies
  • Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) (covered as part of non-banking financial institutions)

Therefore, an assessee classified in any of the above categories must examine whether it holds portfolio investment assets in securities issued by unrelated non-residents and report accordingly.

2.2 Frequency and reference dates

  • The survey is conducted twice a year.
  • It captures positions as on:
    • End-March of the financial year
    • End-September of the financial year

Thus, each PIP round relates to the stock of portfolio investment assets as at March 31 or September 30, not flows during the period.

2.3 Applicability to AIFs

Since AIFs are treated as part of non-banking financial institutions, they are required to participate in the PIP if they hold eligible portfolio investment assets in securities issued by unrelated non-residents.

3. Survey Launch, Timelines and Submission Process

3.1 How and when will entities know that the survey is open?

  1. The RBI initiates each survey round by sending an email from its generic email IDs to all identified eligible entities.
  2. The communication will:
    • Announce the launch of the PIP survey for the latest reference date (end-March or end-September)
    • Attach the latest Excel-based survey schedule
    • Provide instructions regarding filling, file format and email submission

3.2 Typical launch dates

  • For position as at end-March: survey is generally launched on June 01 of that year.
  • For position as at end-September: survey is generally launched on December 01 of that year.

3.3 Due dates for submission

  • For end-March reference date: due date typically is July 07.
  • For end-September reference date: due date typically is December 31.

These dates are general timelines referred to in the FAQs; entities should always follow the specific timeline mentioned in the RBI’s email and the survey schedule.

3.4 Submission acknowledgement and error handling

Once the assessee completes the Excel survey schedule and emails it to the specified generic RBI email ID:

  • A system-generated acknowledgement is sent to the sender’s email.
  • If the acknowledgement indicates errors in the file, the assessee must:
    1. Correct the highlighted issues in the same .xls schedule.
    2. Resend the corrected file to the RBI email ID.
  • A successful processing acknowledgement indicates that the PIP return has been accepted by the system.

No separate manual confirmation email is issued beyond the system acknowledgement.

3.5 What if the survey schedule is not received by email?

If an eligible entity does not receive the survey schedule by email, it may:

  1. Download the schedule from the RBI website (www.rbi.org.in) under:
    • ‘Regulatory Reporting’ → ‘List of Returns’ → ‘PIP (formerly CPIS) – Survey Schedule’, or
    • ‘Forms’ → ‘Survey’ (linked at the bottom of the home page)