Overseas remittances almost double year on year to $2 billion in April

Travel, relative care top the chart, with the former coming back to pre-Covid levels

Outward remittances by resident Indians crossed the $2 billion mark to $2.02 billion in April 2022, almost doubling from level of $1.18 billion in the same month last year, according to Reserve Bank of India data.

Three key heads of spending this April were travel, at $880 million ($284 million in April 2021), maintenance of relatives $385 million ($240 million) and Gifts worth $299 million ($161 million). This is under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for resident individuals.

RBI data showed that the spending on international travel tripled in April 2022 as Covid-related curbs eased in various countries in FY22.