Indian workers living abroad sent 135.46 billion dollars back home in the last financial year which marked the highest ever amount recorded. The latest balance of payments figures released by the Reserve Bank of India showed that inward remittances listed under the category of private transfers rose by 14 per cent compared to the previous year.

India has remained the top country in the world for receiving remittances for over ten years. These inflows have more than doubled in the last eight years as they grew from 61 billion dollars in the financial year 2016 to 2017.

RBI data showed that these remittances made up over 10 per cent of the total current account inflows, which stood at one trillion dollars during the financial year that ended on March 31.

"The high growth in remittances has continued even as there has been weakness in crude oil prices," IDFC First Bank chief economist Gaura Sengupta said. "This is due to the increased share of the skilled workforce shifting to developed economies like the US, UK and Singapore. According to RBI data, these three nations have a 45 per cent share in overall remittances," she added, saying, "In the process, the contribution of the GCC nations has been declining."

Remittances from countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council are usually affected by movements in oil prices.

Along with this, India continues to be among the countries where it costs the least to send 200 US dollars as noted in a research paper published by the RBI.

Other important sources of current account inflows include income from software services and business services which both crossed 100 billion dollars in the last financial year. These three categories combined which are remittances software services and business services made up more than 40 percent of the total current account inflows.

"India's receipts of remittances have tended to be higher than India's gross inward flows of foreign direct investment, thereby confirming their relevance as a stable source of external financing," pointed out an RBI staff report based on a survey of remittances. These remittance flows also help India fund its trade deficit. In the financial year 2025, total inward remittances were almost equal to 47 per cent of the country's merchandise trade deficit, which stood at 287 billion dollars.

According to World Bank data, India remained the biggest recipient of remittances in the world. In 2024, Mexico came second with inflows estimated at 68 billion dollars and China was third with about 48 billion dollars.

Globally, remittances refer to cross-border income transfers between households when people move temporarily or permanently to other countries. As defined by the International Monetary Fund in 2009, there are two components in a country’s balance of payments that are linked to remittances which are compensation of employees under the primary income account and personal transfers under the secondary income account. In India’s case, personal transfers mainly include money sent by Indian workers abroad to support their families and local withdrawals from non-resident deposit accounts. This was stated in a paper published in the RBI’s March 2025 monthly bulletin.