Travel, education drag outward remittances under RBI's LRS in August

India's outward remittances fell 17.7% YoY to $2.6 bn in August 2025, led by lower travel and overseas education spending amid tightening US visa norms

Outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) liberalised remittances scheme (LRS) declined 17.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in August 2025 to $2.6 billion. This is owing to a decline in international travel and overseas education amid visa restrictions by the United States.

 

According to data released by the RBI in its monthly bulletin, outward remittances under the scheme stood at $3.21 billion in August 2024.

 

The LRS scheme was introduced in 2004, permitting all resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transactions or a combination of both, free of charge.

 

In the first phase, the scheme was introduced with a limit of $25,000, which was gradually revised.

 

The outflows for international travel — which is the largest segment — dropped 19.6 per cent Y-o-Y to $1.62 billion.

 

The outflow for overseas education was down by 23.4 per cent Y-o-Y during the month to $319.17 million. This compares to $416.4 million in August 2024.

 

Remittances under medical treatment fell by 47.84 per cent Y-o-Y to $3.9 million, while funds for maintenance of close relatives slipped by 13.74 per cent to $272.05 million.

 

Funds remitted under the ‘others’ segment dropped nearly 67 per cent to $6.7 million.

 

Remittances under the ‘Gift’ category were down by nearly 22.09 per cent to $190.43 million.

 

Similarly, remittances under deposits were down by 6.2 per cent to $42.75 million.

 

On the other hand, purchase of immovable property increased by 60.2 per cent to $36.02 million and investment in equity or debt rose 21.45 per cent to $152.2 million.

 

The decline in remittances under the scheme widened in April-August of FY26 and the overall remittances were down by 6.5 per cent to $12.02 billion.

 

This is amid a decline in remittances across categories, except those for investment purposes, including deposits, purchase of immovable property and investment in equity or debt.