Interesting article! Very relevant also , since around 20% of India s total foreign exchange reserves are derived from remittances.Remittances largely lead to increase in cash flow, hence result in an increased purchasing power among the population. At micro level,it boosts the family income,leads to better nutrition, higher spending on education and in general a better standard of living.
From a macro perspective, it helps in pushing up the GDP growth. Remittances are also very useful when a country faces macro economic shocks, natural disasters, like floods, earthquake etc, political upheaval, financial crisis etc.
Today's HT has an article on how since July 2023, India and UAE agreed to settle trade in rupees instead of Dollars.Some of the Russian oil imports too have been settled in rupees.To boost the rupee, s role in cross border payments, RBI has allowed many banks to settle trade in rupees with 18 countries since last year .
Thank you for your thoughts. Agree with you about the significance of remittances. Especially the new demography--white collar--driving the latest surge. The move to rupee trade is significant. Not only does it cushion India's external sector outlook, it introduces an interesting dimension to the currency mix financing international trade.
This is an outcome of available educational institutions in India and the talent, hardwork, dependability and determination of the NRI population who went abroad and earned a reputation for being reliable employees; that resulted in many NRI Heads of top notch companies, especially in the IT and related sectors. The further increase of the IIT and IIM institutions, along with other institutions for higher education has been justified as not only do they fulfill our domestic requirements but also are a profitable investment in the light of the figures mentioned in your article Anil. A morale boosting write up, very well presented. 👌
Agree with you. The democratisation of higher education has helped no doubt. The use and application of Bhashini--the home grown AI tool that can bridge the gap between English and regional languages--should nudge this process further.
NRI remittances have indeed been a stable source of FX inflows to India over the years and this has increased over the years. in fact, Govt should launch focused support program for upskilling of workers who move to GCC as also for other markets like Israel, Japan etc. In fact, we should have dedicated schools for teaching language, social norms, how to conduct oneself in these countries as well as skill specific courses like for nursing, electrician, driver, plumber, painter , care takers, machine workers etc. This will increase their employability and also their incomes. With international e-rupee being available soon, sending remittances should be quite easy and more importantly cheap. As for white collar workers, Govt has nothing much to do except start foreign universities in India itself so that cost of education comes down without losing benefit of getting high quality education, But one must remember that over a longer period, we should expect these remittances to taper off, as Indian economy grows and next generation Indians will have no one to send money home!!
Thank you for your thoughts. Excellent idea on upskilling. If fact I would take the idea further and introduce foreign languages in school curriculums. It should be a choice of Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Japanese. If nothing it will help spawn a generation of tourist guides who can help out as more international travellers start to arrive and savour new India.
Dear Anil,
Interesting article! Very relevant also , since around 20% of India s total foreign exchange reserves are derived from remittances.Remittances largely lead to increase in cash flow, hence result in an increased purchasing power among the population. At micro level,it boosts the family income,leads to better nutrition, higher spending on education and in general a better standard of living.
From a macro perspective, it helps in pushing up the GDP growth. Remittances are also very useful when a country faces macro economic shocks, natural disasters, like floods, earthquake etc, political upheaval, financial crisis etc.
Today's HT has an article on how since July 2023, India and UAE agreed to settle trade in rupees instead of Dollars.Some of the Russian oil imports too have been settled in rupees.To boost the rupee, s role in cross border payments, RBI has allowed many banks to settle trade in rupees with 18 countries since last year .
Dear Vandana,
Thank you for your thoughts. Agree with you about the significance of remittances. Especially the new demography--white collar--driving the latest surge. The move to rupee trade is significant. Not only does it cushion India's external sector outlook, it introduces an interesting dimension to the currency mix financing international trade.
Look forward to your continued participation.
Best
Anil
This is an outcome of available educational institutions in India and the talent, hardwork, dependability and determination of the NRI population who went abroad and earned a reputation for being reliable employees; that resulted in many NRI Heads of top notch companies, especially in the IT and related sectors. The further increase of the IIT and IIM institutions, along with other institutions for higher education has been justified as not only do they fulfill our domestic requirements but also are a profitable investment in the light of the figures mentioned in your article Anil. A morale boosting write up, very well presented. 👌
Dear Gautam,
Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.
Agree with you. The democratisation of higher education has helped no doubt. The use and application of Bhashini--the home grown AI tool that can bridge the gap between English and regional languages--should nudge this process further.
Look forward to your continued participation.
Best
Anil
NRI remittances have indeed been a stable source of FX inflows to India over the years and this has increased over the years. in fact, Govt should launch focused support program for upskilling of workers who move to GCC as also for other markets like Israel, Japan etc. In fact, we should have dedicated schools for teaching language, social norms, how to conduct oneself in these countries as well as skill specific courses like for nursing, electrician, driver, plumber, painter , care takers, machine workers etc. This will increase their employability and also their incomes. With international e-rupee being available soon, sending remittances should be quite easy and more importantly cheap. As for white collar workers, Govt has nothing much to do except start foreign universities in India itself so that cost of education comes down without losing benefit of getting high quality education, But one must remember that over a longer period, we should expect these remittances to taper off, as Indian economy grows and next generation Indians will have no one to send money home!!
Dear Surendra,
Thank you for your thoughts. Excellent idea on upskilling. If fact I would take the idea further and introduce foreign languages in school curriculums. It should be a choice of Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Japanese. If nothing it will help spawn a generation of tourist guides who can help out as more international travellers start to arrive and savour new India.
Looking forward to your continued participation.
Best
Anil