India is on track to become the first country in history to receive $100 billion in remittances per year.

With a population of around 18 million, Indians are the world's largest diaspora group. As a result, India has received an increasing amount of remittances over the years.

According to World Bank data (pdf), the amount has already reached $100 billion in 2022, making the country the first to do so. "Wage increases and a strong labour market in the United States and other OECD countries boosted remittance flows to India," according to a World Bank release dated Nov. 30.

Inward remittances, which account for about 3% of India's GDP, increased by 12% starting in 2021.

Other factors contributed to this increase, in addition to a large working population of Indians living abroad. Students, for example, are a significant component of the Indian diaspora. They eventually form high-income groups, which has a direct impact on remittances.

The Indian rupee's depreciation has also helped. Since January, the currency has lost 10% of its value against the US dollar. According to the World Bank, this has reduced the cost of sending money from South Africa to India by 26%, Thailand by about 17%, and Japan by 14% in the last year.

Migration from India is changing structurally.

Up to 8,81,254 people gave up their Indian citizenship between January 2015 and September 2021. Following the pandemic, countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Germany, and Ireland relaxed their immigration policies in order to attract skilled workers.

Previously, such relocation shifted from the Arabian Gulf to developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom for high-skilled jobs.

Due to large stimulus packages and wage increases in that country during and after the pandemic, the United States became the largest remitter to India in 2020-21.

According to the report, "the structural shift in qualifications and destinations has accelerated growth in remittances tied to high-salaried jobs, particularly in services."