Money sent back by Indians working abroad up 12% in 2022, hits almost $100 billion

More than 1.8 crore Indians travelled abroad in 2022, which was a 137 per cent uptick from the previous year, and 1.2 crore of them went overseas to earn. The money that these workers send back to relatives, friends and as investments, account for 3 per cent of India's total GDP. Highlighting the importance of this inflow from expats, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has revealed that remittances from abroad for India went up by 12 per cent in a year.

Speaking further about the contribution of NRIs to demand for everything Indian abroad, Sitharaman also urged them to use made in India products. She also talked about turning India into a viable alternative for multinationals to set up manufacturing facilities once they move out of China and Europe.

With lakhs of Indians moving abroad to set up businesses like a large number of NRIs who have acheived success in foreign lands, she also called for partnerships between local and NRI entrepreneurs. Sitharaman also revealed that remittances had reached close to $100 billion for the year 2022.

Although several expats have been hit by tech layoffs, Sitharaman credited the dominance of Indian professionals in IT, semiconductor designing, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, to pitch India as a global industrial hub.