Outward remittances under LRS surged to 50% over the previous year

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, November 18, 2022, released the November 2022 issue of its monthly Bulletin. The bulletin includes the details of outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India.

Remittances under the RBI’s scheme hit a record high in the previous financial year of $19.6 billion (19610.77 US$ Million). It is expected that remittances may surpass the previous high in the current financial year.

According to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India, resident Indians remitted $13.4 billion during the first half period of 2022-23 as compared to $8.9 billion in the previous financial year.

During the second quarter of FY23, remittances stood at $7.3 billion, compared to $5.2 billion a year ago. The details of second quarter Outward Remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for Resident Individuals are as under:

Amount in US$ Million

Deposit	1982.44	2667.81	2671.40
Purchase of immovable property	79.96	72.02	79.30
Investment in equity/debt	11.65	12.24	14.64
Gift	59.71	53.53	76.54
Donations	1.18	1.57	0.98
Travel	1015.27	1469.73	1402.67
Maintenance of close relatives Abroad	292.72	330.70	366.47
Medical treatment Abroad	4.29	4.95	4.67
Studies Abroad	276.03	467.52	424.95
Others	25.30	34.25	57.46

We may observe from the above chart that more than 50% of the Outward Remittances are from India. Travel-related remittances were the highest in the July-September period followed by maintenance of close relatives and for studies abroad. Remittances for the purpose of investments & purchase of the immovable property are also sizably increasing.

Surendra Naik