The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has doubled the sub-limit for foreign investment in government securities, to USD 10 billion by long-term investors. RBI's move is aimed to attract more foreign funds. Investors like sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), multilateral agencies, insurance funds, pension funds and foreign central banks are considered as long term investors.In a notification issued from Mumbai on Wednesday the RBI said the decision taken in consultation with the government will be applicable with immediate effect.Earlier, the sub-limit for long term investors registered with SEBI was USD 5 billion.However, the total limit of USD 30 billion available for foreign investments in government securities has not been tinkered with. The RBI has made it clear that the operational guidelines in this regard will be issued by SEBI.Foreign institutional investors(FIIs) – qualified foreign investors (QFIs) and long-term investors – registered with market watchdog SEBI are allowed to purchase government securities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) or bonds issued by Indian companies within the limit of USD 30 billion.SEBI has been making various efforts to attract foreign funds into the market and had recently notified foreign portfolio investor (FPI) regulations