~Samriddhi Singh Mahar
India’s outward remittances dropped to USD 1.9 billion in February 2025 from USD 2.7 billion in January 2025, a nearly 29% decrease, driven by reduced travel abroad, fewer students option for international education and changing immigration laws in the US, as per the latest data by 1Lattice.
In February, travel expenses accounted for 56%, followed by family maintenance, education, gift and investments in equity at 12%, 10%, 9% and 9% respectively.
In comparison, in January 2025, travel expenses accounted for 59%, followed by education, family maintenance and gift 13%, 11% and 8% respectively.
The investment in equity debt has seen varying trends in the past couple of months, with it falling by approximately 41.34% from December 2024 to January 2025 and rebounding with an nearly 66% increase.
According to a report by KNOMAD, the top countries of origin for remittances are India, Ukraine, China, Mexico, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Remittances’ growth in South Asia is projected to be the highest among developing country regions in 2024, even though it is projected to moderate to about 4 percent in 2024 and 2025. The overall projection for remittance flows is likely to be driven by three factors: a slackening of growth and labor market conditions in South Asian migrants’ high-income host economies; uncertainty related to ongoing global conflicts; and migrants’ preference for informal over formal channels of money transfer to countries embroiled in economic crises.KNOMAD Migration and Development Brief 2024
In 2023, South Asia received USD 186 billion in remittances, growing by 5.2%, slower than the 12% rise in 2022. This growth came mainly from India, where remittances rose by 7.5% to USD 120 billion, driving the region’s overall increase.
