Number of NRIs across the globe rose 18% to 13.4 mn between 2015-2018

As number of NRIs increased, the number of unskilled workers and low-skilled workers emigrating from India declined

Last year, in reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the government informed the parliament that an estimated 13.5 million Indian nationals resided in various countries in 2021, of which 8.8 million were in the Gulf.

Given the pandemic, there hasn’t been a significant change in the number of Indians settling abroad, but data between 2015 and 2018 shows that the number of Non-Resident Indians were up by 18 per cent in those years. In 2015, India had 11.4 million Indians settled abroad, which increased to 13.4 million in 2018.

Moreover, the government data also highlights an estimated 1.1 million