4 STATES GET 60% OF TOTAL REMITTANCE

Mumbai, Aug. 9: Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu together received close to 60 per cent of the total remittances in the country in financial year 2016-17, according to a RBI survey.

Of the total remittances into the country in 2016-17, 74.2 per cent was routed through private sector banks, while the share of public sector banks stood at 17.3 per cent. Foreign banks accounted for 8.5 per cent of the total remittance, according to RBI’s ‘Inward Remittances Survey.’

“Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu together received 58.7 per cent of total remittances in 2016-17,” it said.

The findings is based on the responses from 42 major authorised dealers (ADs), accounting for 98.3 per cent of total remittances in 2016-17.

Nearly 82 per cent of the total remittances received by the country originated from eight countries - the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.

In the reporting year, 70.3 per cent of all reported transactions were of more than $500 and only 2.7 per cent were of less than $200, the survey showed.

More than 50 per cent of remittances received by Indian residents were used for family maintenance such as consumption, followed by deposits in banks.