In March 2025, Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published a paper titled ‘Changing Dynamics of India’s Remittances: Insights from the Sixth Round of India’s Remittances Survey’ in its monthly bulletin. As per the results from the 6th round of India’s remittance survey, there has been gradual shift in India’s inward remittance patterns as advanced economies (AEs) have replaced the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations as the dominant source of remittances to India.
- As per RBI’s survey, AEs such as: the United States of America (USA); Singapore; Canada and Australia together accounted over 50% of India’s remittances in Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24). This reflects a shift in migration patterns towards a skilled Indian diaspora.
About RBI’s Survey:
i.The survey has captured responses from 30 Authorised Dealer (AD) banks, covering 99% of the total value of inward remittances, 2 major Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and 2 cross-border fintech companies.
ii.The paper was authored by officials from the Department of Economic and Policy Research (DEPR), RBI.
Key Findings:
i.Total Remittances Received in FY24: The survey revealed that India’s inward remittances have increased more than twice, from USD 55.6 billion (in 2010-11) to USD 118.7 billion (in 2023-24), increasing at an annual average rate of 14.3% post-COVID 10.
ii.Top source countries for India’s remittances in FY24: USA emerged as the largest source of remittances, accounting 27.7% of total inward remittances to India in FY24, increase from 23.4% in FY21.
- It is followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which has retained its position as the 2nd largest source of India’s remittances. The share of UAE has increased marginally from 18% (FY21) to 19.2% (FY24).
iii.Increase in the share of AEs: The survey showed that the share of the United Kingdom (UK) has increased from 6.8% (in FY21) to 10.8% (in FY24), which may be due to the ‘Migration and Mobility Partnership’ between India and UK in 2021.
- While the share of other AEs: Singapore (6.6%), Canada (3.8%), and Australia (2.3%).
iii.Share of GCC nations: The combined share of GCC countries such as: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain stood at 38% in FY24, compared to 47% recorded in FY17.
iv.State-wise distribution of remittances: Among all Indian states, Maharashtra received the largest share of remittances, accounting 20.5% in FY24; followed by Kerala (19.7%), Tamil Nadu (TN) (10.4%), Telangana (8.1%); and Karnataka (7.7%).
v.Increase in India’s share to international migrants: India’s share of international migrants has tripled from 6.6 million (in 1990) to 18.5 million (in 2024), with this, its share in international migrants has increased from 4.3% to more than 6% during the same period.
- The report showed that together GCC nations account for around 50% of the total Indian migrants in the world.
- Also, UAE is the largest hub for Indian migrant workers, engaged mainly in blue-collar jobs in various sectors dominated by construction, followed by healthcare, hospitality, and tourism.
Other Key Points:
i.The survey highlighted that remittance in terms of value of transactions, amounting to over Rs 5 lakh had the highest share of nearly 29% in FY24.
ii.As per the RBI’s survey, on an average, 73.5% of total remittances received by the MTOs were through digital mode during FY24.
Recent Related News:
In January 2025, RBI released Payment System Report, December 2024, which has analysed the trends in payment transactions carried out using different payment systems in the last 5 Calendar Years (CY) up to CY-2024.
- As per the report, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) emerged as the significant contributor to growth of digital payments in India. The contribution of UPI to digital payments volume increased from 34% in CY-2019 to 83% in CY-2024
