Increased remittance flows to India have doubled in the past ten years, with four advanced economies – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia – capturing an increasing share of the funds. The migration of highly-skilled Indians to these countries, combined with rising incomes among the diaspora, has helped reduce India’s dependence on any single region while enhancing financial resilience, according to a report by Indiaspora, a San Francisco-based NGO of global CEOs of Indian origin.“The Indian diaspora sends home $138 billion annually, more than FDI inflows. The $35 million Indian diaspora generates income of over $700 billion globally,” Rajan Navani, MD, Indiaspora, told ET.
In addition to the macroeconomic benefits, remittances play a major role at the household level. In states like Kerala, for example, this money is often directed toward improving housing, loan repayments, and education.Kerala receives about 20% of India’s total remittances, although it represents only 3% of India’s population of 1.4 billion people.More than 70% of diaspora respondents expect remittances to India to increase or remain stable over the next two years.
Indian-origin professionals are also increasingly influencing the country’s start-up and philanthropic sectors. More than 75% of overseas angel investors backing Indian startups are of Indian origin, while leaders of Indian origin hold decision-making positions in more than half of the world’s largest organizations, and collectively direct more than $500 million annually to Indian nonprofits.In the medical field, one in 10 doctors in the United States is of Indian origin. Indian-origin professionals also lead major medical and pharmaceutical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians, and companies such as Novartis and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.