NRI remittances to India soar to record $135.46 billion in FY25
Indian diaspora's robust financial transfers, fueled by strong global job markets and favorable US tax revisions, inject significant capital into the regional economies
Mumbai: Remittances from Indians working abroad surged by 14% to a record $135.46 billion in fiscal year 2024-25, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These inflows, classified as “private transfers,” constituted over 10% of India’s gross current account flows of $1 trillion in FY25.
India maintained its position as the top recipient country for remittances in 2024, receiving a record $129.4 billion. This figure significantly outpaced Mexico ($68 billion) and China ($48 billion), which ranked second and third respectively, according to World Bank economists. The October-December quarter of 2024 saw the highest-ever quarterly inflows at $36 billion.
Personal transfer receipts for the January-March quarter of 2024-25 alone rose to $33.9 billion, up from $31.3 billion in the same period the previous year. The growth rate of remittances in the 2024 calendar year is estimated at 5.8%, a notable increase from 1.2% in 2023.
The number of Indians working overseas has substantially increased, tripling from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024. Their share in global migrants has also grown from 4.3% to over 6% during this period. Approximately half of all Indian migrants globally reside in Gulf countries.
A key driver for this surge in remittances has been the recovery of job markets in high-income Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, particularly the United States. Employment of foreign-born workers in the U.S. has steadily recovered and is now 11% higher than pre-pandemic levels seen in February 2020.
In a significant development for Indian professionals and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the US, President Donald Trump’s updated draft of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposes reducing the tax rate on remittances to 1%, a substantial drop from the initially suggested 5%.
Alongside remittances, software services and business services were other major contributors to India’s current account inflows in FY25, each bringing in over $100 billion. These three sources combined accounted for more than 40% of total current account receipts, helping to keep India’s current account deficit in check.
