Outbound remittances through LRS spurt 8 times since Jun 2015

 Driven by overseas travel and studies, outbound forex remittances from the country has soared almost eight times since the Reserve Bank of India hiked the cap 10 times in June 2015. It can be recalled that the RBI been steadily increasing outward overseas remittances under the liberalised remittances scheme (LRS) facility. The latest revision was in June 2015, when it increased the quantum by 10 times to $2,50,000 a year.

“From a modest $140.7 million in June 2015, the outgo through the LRS has soared to $1.09 billion in September 2017 which is a growth of close to eight times,” according to a report by InstaRem, a leader in digital cross-border payments in Southeast Asia.

On the other hand, the total outbound remittances soared to a record $4.6 billion in 2016, up from $1.6 billion in 2015, which is a growth of over 250 per cent, says the report quoting industry data.

This massive spurt is driven by foreign travel constituting almost a third of the total spend with a 31.43 per cent share, followed by forex expenses towards maintenance of close relatives outside that takes in 26.55 per cent share and overseas studies constituting 18.8 per cent of this outbound forex expenses, says the report.