$63.7 bn remittances from NRIs in 2011

Weak rupee and robust economic activities in the Gulf region resulted in India receiving the highest amount of remittances among developing countries at $63.7 billion from nationals working overseas in 2011.

In fact, the country is estimated to have got marginally more remittances than neighbouring China that received $62.5 billion, according to an update on migration and remittances released by World Bank on Friday.

The World Bank said the remittance flow to India surged by $5.8 billion due to the weak rupee and robust economic activities in the Gulf countries, which are the major destinations of recent migrants.

The pickup in inflows have come very timely for India, as it has struggled to attract capital flow to bridge the high current account deficit.

 

Despite a slowdown in global growth in the current calendar, remittances are expected to pick up further, the data indicates in its forecasts. The inflow into South Asia will grow to $104 billion in 2012 from $97 billion in 2011, the update said.

“Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to grow at 7-8 percent annually to reach $467 billion by 2014,” the bank has said in its Migration and Development Brief 18. “Worldwide remittance flows, including those to high-income countries, are expected to exceed $615 billion by 2014.”