Remittances to India

Remittances to India are money transfers from Non-resident Indians (NRIs), employed outside the country to family, friends or relatives in India. India is the world's leading receiver of remittances, claiming more than 12% of the world's remittances in 2007.[1]

Remittances to India stood at $67.6 billion in 2012-13, accounts for over 4% of the country's GDP.[2][3][4] This grew to $70 billion in 2013-14, the highest amongst the countries receiving remittances from overseas workers.[5] As per the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), remittance is received from the approximately 25 million members of the Indian diaspora.[4]

Overview

Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999, Non Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can open and maintain three types of accounts namely, Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee Account (NRO Account), Non-Resident (External) Rupee Account (NRE Account) and Foreign Currency Non Resident (Bank) Account – FCNR (B) Account.[6]

Since 1991, India has experienced sharp remittance growth. In 1991 Indian remittances were valued at 2.1 billion USD;[3][7] in 2006, they were estimated at between $22 billion[8] and $25.7 billion.[2] which grew to $67.6 billion in 2012-13, up from $66.1 billion the fiscal year, 2011-2012,[4] when the remittance exceed the foreign direct investment(FDI) inflow of $46.84 billion into India.[9]

Money is sent to India either electronically (for example, by SWIFT) or by demand draft. In recent years many banks are offering money transfers and this has grown into a huge business. Around 40% of the international remittances flow to the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh which are among the top international remittance-dependent economies of the world.[9][10] Research work on remittances to India is listed in the India Migration Bibliography.[11]

A 2012 study, by Reserve Bank of India revealed 30.8% of total foreign remittances was from West Asia, compared to 29.4% from North America and 19.5% from Europe.[9]

Remittance by fiscal year

The following table illustrates the remittances to India as percent of GDP, 1980–1991 to 2005–2010.[12][13]

Year Remittances

(US$ billion)

 Percent GDP
1990–1991 2.1 0.7
1995–1996 8.5 3.22
1999–2000 12.07 2.72
2000–2001 12.85 2.84
2001–2002 15.4 3.29
2002–2003 16.39 3.39
2003–2004 21.61 3.69
2004–2005 20.25 3.03
2005–2006 24.55 (projected) 3.08
2006–2007 29.10
2007–2008 37.2
2008–2009 51.6
2009–2010 55.06
2011–2012 66.1 [9] 4% [9]
2012–2013 67.6 [4]
2013-2014 70 [5]

1 United States dollar = 60 Indian rupees

See also

References

  1. ↑ "India has the largest share in world remittances market". Ecommerce Journal. 2008-09-10.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Remittances from Indians abroad push India to the top". www.nrirealtynews.com. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gupta, Poonam (2005-12-01). Macroeconomic Determinants of Remittances: Evidence from India. International Monetary Fund. ISBN 9781451862430. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Remittances from Indian diaspora on the rise". The Economic Times. Feb 19, 2014. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "India tops global remittances list; received $70 billion in 2013: World Bank". The Economic Times. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  6. ↑ "Facilities for Non Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs)". Reserve Bank of India. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  7. ↑ Chishti, Muzaffar (February 2007). "The Rise in Remittances to India: A Closer Look". Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  8. ↑ "Remittances to India touch $22 billion". The Financial Express. 2006-10-26. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "NRIs beat FDI, keep the money coming". Hindustan Times. October 8, 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-23.
  10. ↑ Tumbe, Chinmay (March 2011). "Remittances in India: Facts and Issues". IIMB Working Paper No. 331. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  11. ↑ Tumbe, Chinmay (July 2012). "India Migration Bibliography". Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Retrieved 2012-11-05.
  12. ↑ Chishti, Muzaffar (February 2007). "The Rise in Remittances to India: A Closer Look". Migration Information Source. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  13. ↑ "Figure 4. Remittances to India, 1970 to 2008". Migration Information Source. Archived from the original on 2010-12-04d=. Retrieved 2011-07-28. Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)

External links