Pilgrims to Kartarpur gurudwara can carry up to Rs 11,000: RBI

The RBI has set lower currency limit for pilgrims visiting Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. Devotees can carry up to Rs 11,000 in rupees or US dollars, lower than the usual limit of Rs 25,000.

Mumbai: The RBI on Wednesday permitted Indians as well as OCI card holders going on pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan through the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor to carry up to Rs 11,000 in rupees or US dollars, lower than the usual limit of Rs 25,000.

As per the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015, any Indian resident may carry outside currency notes of up to Rs 25,000, other than to Nepal and Bhutan. The same limit applies for bringing in the currency.

In consultation with the government, the RBI "has decided that Indian passport holders as well as persons of Indian origin carrying the Overseas Citizen of India Card along with their passports travelling to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan through the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, shall be allowed to carry outside and bring into India at the time of his/her return, only Indian currency notes and/or foreign currency in USD, the total value of which may not exceed Rs 11,000".

The Reserve Bank said this in a statement titled 'Lower currency limit for pilgrims visiting Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur'.

The Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India's Punjab state.

The 4 km-long corridor provides visa free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.

Pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March last year because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Kartarpur corridor was reopened last month.

PTI