NRIs pour in funds: India tops remittance list

Indians working abroad sent a whopping $21.7 billion to their kin in 2004, making the country the highest recipient of remittances worldwide, a World Bank report said on Thursday.

Remittance inflows to India was higher than China ($21.3 billion), Mexico ($18.1 billion), France ($12 billion) and the Philippines ($12 billion), the World Bank report on Global Economic Prospects said. 

Among South Asian nations, Indian migrants sent back home more than five times compared to their counterparts in Pakistan ($3.9 billion) and Bangladesh ($3.4 billion).

With rise in migration of workers across the borders, remittances worldwide is set to touch $232.8 billion this year from $225.8 billion in 2004.

"Of this, developing countries are expected to receive $167 billion, more than twice the level of development aid from all sources," it said. Remittances to developing nations were at $160.4 billion last year.

Remittances sent through informal channels could add at least 50 per cent of the official estimate, making remittances the largest course of external capital in many developing nations, it said.

The increase in remittances reflected a rise in migration, which can generate substantial welfare gains for migrants and their families, as well as the home country, the bank said.

"With the number of migrants worldwide now reaching almost 200 million, their productivity and earnings are a powerful force for poverty reduction," World Bank chief economist Francois Bourguignon said.