NEW DELHI: India has tightened restrictions on the amount of money Indian companies and individuals can send out of the country, trying to curb a sharp decline in the rupee.

The US dollar has risen about 15 percent against the Indian rupee this year, pushing up costs for oil and other crucial imports, amid stagnating economic growth.

The central bank said the measures it announced Wednesday are aimed at “moderating” outflows.

The limit for overseas investments by Indian companies has been reduced to 100 percent of a company’s net worth from 400 percent.

State oil companies were exempted.

The amount of money individuals can remit overseas was cut to $75,000 each financial year from $200,000.

The Reserve Bank said it could grant exemptions to the new limits if a genuine requirement was demonstrated.

Asia’s third-biggest economy expanded 5 percent last fiscal year, which was the slowest growth in a decade, showing the impact of high inflation, weak consumer spending, and delays in economic reforms that dampened investment.

A Reuters poll showed that short positions in the Indian rupee hit the highest in two months amid sustained doubts over policymakers’ ability to stabilize the currency, while bullish bets on the Chinese yuan nearly doubled.

Bearish sentiment on the rupee increased to the highest since June 20, according to the survey of 15 currency analysts.

The rupee has hovered near a record low of 61.80 per dollar even after the government announced a flurry of measures over the last week to support it, such as hikes in gold import duties, while the central bank was spotted intervening.

Investors regard those measures as insufficient to lift the ailing unit, believing such steps were unlikely to narrow the current account deficit.

By contrast, long positions in the yuan more than doubled as the renminbi hit a record high, with stronger-than-expected trade and output data spurring hopes of an economic recovery.

Bearish positions in the Singapore dollar nearly halved as the currency hit a near eight-week high after data showed the economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, investors became less bullish on the South Korean won on growing caution over possible intervention by the authorities to stem its strength.

The won rose 1.6 percent in July when most of its regional peers fell.

The Reuters survey is focused on what analysts believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht.

The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3.

A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long US dollars.

The figures included positions held through non-deliverable forward (NDFs).