India received $87bn in remittances

INDIA received $87 billion in remittances in 2021 with the US being the biggest source, accounting for over 20 percent of these funds, according to the World Bank.

India is followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines, and Egypt, the Washington-based global lender said in its report.

In India, remittances are projected to grow three per cent in 2022 to $ 89.6bn, reflecting a drop in overall migrant stock, as a large proportion of returnees from the Arab countries await return, it said.

‘Flows to India (the world's largest recipient of remittances) are expected to reach $ 87 billion, a gain of 4.6 percent - with the severity of Covid-19 caseloads and deaths during the second quarter (well above the global average) playing a prominent role in drawing altruistic flows (including for the purchase of oxygen tanks) to the country,' the World Bank report stated.

Remittances to low- and middle-income countries are projected to have grown a strong 7.3 percent to reach $589 billion in 2021, the bank said.

This return to growth is more robust than earlier estimates and follows the resilience of flows in 2020 when remittances declined by only 1.7 percent despite a severe global recession due to Covid-19, according to estimates from the World Bank's migration and development brief.