Oman among India’s top seven remittance sources

Muscat: Oman is one of seven countries that contributed nearly 82 per cent of the remittances received by India during the first half of 2018-2019 (corresponding to April-September), according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
According to the RBI’s recently published “Mid-year External Sector Review”, “Some 82 per cent of the total remittances received by India are from seven countries—the UAE, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UK and Oman.”
“In particular, two-thirds of Indian migrants are in the Gulf countries and, therefore, activity levels in these countries – mainly determined by international crude oil prices – play a critical role in defining the level of remittances,” it said.
Crude oil prices
The report noted, “A sharp rise in crude oil prices and depreciation of the Indian rupee seem to have augured well for remittance flows to India in H1:2018-19. Similarly, the average cost of sending remittances to India has also fallen in recent years, though it remains higher than the sustainable development goal target of three per cent by 2030.”