Under the Balance of Payments system, a distinction is made in terms of payments to residents and non residents. The details of payment of dividend and profit to nonresident shareholders during 2010-11 to 2013-14, as provided by the RBI, is given below:

(in USD Million)

	2010-11PR	2011-12PR	2012-13	2013-14P
Payment of dividend to non-resident shareholder	4337	4541	3268	3728
Payment of profit to non-resident shareholder	344	320	136	312

According to the RBI, the number of Indian companies which has repatriated funds to India during the last three years is given below:

S.No.	Year	No. of companies operating abroad and repatriating funds to India
1	2.11-12	683
2.	2012-13	707
3	2013-14	506

The payment of dividend and share of profit to non-resident shareholders of foreign entitles operations in India and the dividend repatriated to India by Indian companies operating abroad are part of the Investment Income under the Current Account of Balance of Payments. Since 1994, in adherence to Article VIII of the IMF, all current transactions are fully convertible.

This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha

Current account convertibility: investment income flows, including dividend and profit repatriation, are fully convertible under IMF Article VIII. Payments of dividends and profits to non-resident shareholders and dividends repatriated by Indian companies abroad are classified as Investment Income in the Current Account of the Balance of Payments; since 1994, under Article VIII of the IMF, all current transactions are fully convertible, making such repatriation and income flows subject to convertibility under the external accounts framework.