Remittances by Overseas Indians Hit Record $135.46 Billion in FY25
- Indians abroad sent $135.46 billion in FY25 a 14% rise making India the top global recipient of remittances.
- The number of Indian migrants rose to 18.5 million, with strong job recovery in countries like the U.S. driving higher inflows.
- Remittances, along with software and business services, contributed over 40% to India’s current account inflows, helping control the deficit.
India has set a new record in remittance inflows, with Indians working overseas sending back $135.46 billion in the financial year 2024-25, marking a 14 percent year-on-year increase, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This surge in private transfers now accounts for more than 10 percent of India’s gross current account flows, which stood at $1 trillion in FY25.
Personal transfer receipts, which primarily include remittances by Indians employed abroad, reached $33.9 billion in the January-March quarter of FY25, up from $31.3 billion in the same quarter last year. The October-December quarter saw the highest-ever quarterly inflows of $36 billion, contributing to the record annual tally.
India continues to top the global list of remittance-receiving countries. In 2024, it led by a significant margin, outpacing Mexico’s $68 billion, China’s $48 billion, the Philippines’ $40 billion, and Pakistan’s $33 billion, as per World Bank data. The global remittance growth rate for 2024 was estimated at 5.8 percent, a sharp rise compared to the 1.2 percent growth recorded in 2023.
The Indian diaspora, which has grown substantially over the decades, has played a critical role in this upward trend. The number of Indians working abroad has increased from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024, with their share in global migrants rising from 4.3 percent to over 6 percent. Migrants in Gulf countries account for nearly half of India’s overseas population.
A key driver of this growth has been the strong recovery of job markets in developed economies post-Covid, particularly in the United States. Employment among foreign-born workers in the U.S. is now 11 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels, boosting remittance capacity.
In a major relief to NRIs and Indian professionals in the U.S., the updated draft of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has slashed the proposed remittance tax from 5 percent to 1 percent, reducing the burden on overseas Indians.
Alongside remittances, India’s current account inflows were supported by strong performances from software and business services, each contributing over $100 billion in FY25. Together, these three streams remittances, software, and business services accounted for over 40 percent of total current account receipts, playing a crucial role in managing India’s current account deficit.
