India diaspora remit record $18 billion in 2003

Monday, 05 April 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Riding on the back of a "feel-good" factor in the Indian economy, overseas Indians remitted a record $18 billion back home in 2003, making the country the largest receipt of private transfers globally. According to the balance of payments figures released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), workers' remittances to India rose to a staggering $18.2 billion in the last calendar year, posting a growth of as much as 30 percent over 2002. The October-December quarter of 2003 witnessed maximum transfer of money by overseas Indians with the figure touching $5.2 billion, up from $5 billion logged in the July-September period, the RBI data showed. In the January-March quarter of 2003, total remittances amounted to $3.8 billion and it was followed by $4.2 billion worth of private transfers in the quarter ended June 30, 2003. Remittances, or money sent home by emigrant Indians, are pushing India to the top slot among all developing countries -- accounting for about five times the country's foreign direct investments per year. They are also sharply higher than India's famed software earnings. Hardworking youngsters in the Middle East, Britain, Canada and the US have changed many a lives in India. India has become the largest recipient of private transfers in the developing world with $14.8 billion in 2002-03. Its share in the global flow is at around three percent. According to the World Bank, such money transfers not only shore up the nation's foreign exchange reserves but also have a positive influence on the global economy. And helped by the growing remittances, India's foreign exchanges reserves have crossed the $110 billion mark with the inflow of $319 million during the week ended March 26. An estimated 20 million Indians live abroad, spread across continents, with strong concentrations in North America, Europe, Africa, the Gulf, Southeast Asia and Australasia.
Source: IANS
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