Cash remittance from Gulf

Indians working abroad, particularly in the Gulf countries, are rushing to send money home to take. advantage of a depreciating rupee. In the last couple of months, inward remittances from Gulf countries have increased more than 30 per cent over the same period last year. At present, remittances from Gulf countries account for more than 30 per cent of the total money transfers to India. There were significant increases in NRI remittances from the Gulf region, Europe and Africa whereas those from North America and East Asia declined. For example, one could hardly get more than Rs 120 in exchange of one Oman rial. With the Indian rupee now trading at Rs 128 a rial, it means my family will get nearly 7 per cent more in rupee terms on the same amount of rial transfer. Remittances from the Gulf region have been steadily increasing since 2008-09. The trend has spiked since August after the rupee started weakening against the greenback. Remittances to India from Gulf countries have grown more than 30 per cent in the July-September quarter compared with the previous quarter.  Large-ticket money transfers have increased, particularly in the last couple of weeks. These people send money for investments rather than domestic commitments. According to money exchangers, the increase in the volume of money remitted has been more than the number of transactions, suggesting that high-income expatriates are taking advantage of the depreciating rupee. The UAE’s dirham and Kuwait’s dinar have all gained against the rupee. Banks in India such as the SBI, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and HSBC, which have money transfer network in these Gulf countries, are witnessing a heavy inflow of remittance.