There is a shift in the nature of population migrating from India with more skilled people migrating, a survey by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows.
The results of the sixth round of RBI’s India’s remittances survey covering 2023-24 released on Wednesday shows that the share of advanced economies in India’s inward remittances has risen to surpass the share of Gulf nations.
The largest share of remittances into India in 2023-24 came from the United States (27.7 per cent) while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came second at 19.2 per cent. In contrast, the UAE took the top spot with a 26.9 per cent share and the US was in the second spot with 22.9 per cent share in the 2016-17 survey.
The US, the UK, Singapore, Canada and Australia together accounted for more than half of remittances in 2023-24. The GCC nations -UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain- held 37.9 per cent share of India’s remittances in 2023-24. This is in contrast to 46.7 per cent share they held in 2016-17.
“UAE is the largest hub for Indian migrant workers engaged primarily in blue-collar jobs which are dominated by the construction industry followed by healthcare, hospitality, and tourism industry. This is in stark contrast to the US where Indian migrants are mainly employed in white-collar jobs, thus explaining the higher remittances received from the US despite the lower number of migrants,” the RBI said in its report. “78 per cent of Indian migrants in the US are employed in high-earning occupations such as management, business, science, and arts,” it added.
Further, the RBI survey also showed that Maharashtra, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the dominant states in terms of recipients of remittances. While Kerala was at the first spot in 2016-17 with 19 per cent share, Maharashtra has overtaken it to get to the top spot in 2023-24 with 20.5 per cent share. Tamil Nadu has also grown its share from 8 per cent in 2016-17 to 10.4 per cent in 2023-24.
As per the World Bank data, India’s share in world remittances has risen from around 11 per cent in 2001 to about 14 per cent in 2024. Going forward, remittances to India are likely to remain elevated and are projected to increase to around US$ 160 billion in 2029. The other major recipients of remittances include Mexico, China, Philippines, France, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
The cost of sending remittances to India has moderated, driven by digitalisation, the survey shows. On an average, 73.5 per cent of total remittances received in India in 2023-24 by the money transfer operators in were through digital mode.
RBI’s survey is based on responses received from 30 authorised dealer banks (covering around 99 per cent of the total value of inward remittances), two major Money Transfer Operators and two cross-border fintech companies.
