What is a PIS letter, and how to get it?

Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) is a scheme of the Reserve Bank of India under which NRIs can purchase or sell shares of listed Indian companies.

NRIs can get the PIS letter with the help of the bank where the NRE or NRO account was opened. RBI has authorised only designated branches of a bank to administer the PIS. To open a Zerodha account, NRIs must have a PIS account with any one of the following banks: IDFC First, Yes bank, Axis, HDFC or IndusInd bank.

NRIs who do not have a PIS letter can open an NRO Non-PIS account to invest through Zerodha. To learn more, see What documents are required to open a Zerodha account as an NRI?