From correspondents in Kerala, India, 09:00 PM IST

The deposits by non-resident Indians (NRIs) in banks in Kerala have declined from Rs.333.03 billion ($7.93 billion) in 2006-07 to Rs.298.89 billion last fiscal, said a report by the State Level Banker's Committee (SLBC) here Wednesday.

However, the dip in NRI deposits did not affect the overall bank deposits since the domestic account holders pumped money into the banks.

Domestic deposits, according to the report, grew from Rs.583.94 billion in March 2007 to Rs.755.99 billion in March 2008.

The total deposits in the Kerala banks grew to Rs.1.05 trillion in 2007-08 from Rs.916.97 billion previous fiscal.

Addressing an SLBC meeting Wednesday, T.L. Rawal, senior banker with the Canara Bank, urged the banks to study the reasons behind the decline of NRI deposits and take adequate steps.

There are nearly two million expatriate Keralites, of whom close to 90 percent work in the Middle East.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)