8 Remittance and its impact

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1. INTRODUCTION

 

The Diaspora plays a very important role in the development of the homeland. It contributes through remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), entrepreneurship, philanthropy etc. To understand remittance, it is important to understand the migration patterns and theircharacteristics. Accurate data on migration for the majority of countries is difficult to get and India is no exception. According to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), India has the second-largest Diaspora in the world, after China, with around 25 million people living in some 110 countries (in all six continents). Migration from India has had three major phases: (a) early migration of unskilled labor to work on plantations and mines in British colonies as indentured labour, (b) 20th century migration of high-skilled professionals to advanced industrialized countries of the West, and (c)the late-20th -century migration of unskilled and semiskilled workers to Gulfcountries.

 

Remittance in India is a two way phenomenon. It is a receiver of remittance from abroad as well as a source of remittance for a few countries like Bangladesh, Srilanka, Nepal etc, sections of whose population work here. Interstate migration within India forms a huge chunk of remittance. Migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are big remitters to their home states. As Chinmay Tumbe writes in his report (Tumbe 2011:15), highest local (within the country) remittance is received by Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 6,391crore) followed by Bihar (Rs. 4,047 crores), Rajashthan (Rs. 3,558 crores), West Bengal (Rs. 2,572 crores) Tamil Nadu (Rs. 2,013 crores) and Odisha (Rs. 1,730 crorers).

 

India is a destination for migrants from the neighboring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. They are mainly unskilled and semiskilled workers. Migrants from Bangladesh account for highest number of foreign emigrants in India, accounting for 3.2 million(TOI: 2013).For Bangladeshis, India is a favourite place for migration. Bangladeshis are concentrated mainly in West Bengal and North Eastern states, mainly Assam. Nepalese are second largest migrants in India after Bangladeshis. Nepalese accountfor 1-3 million(Afram 2012:86-87). Nepalese are mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. Most Nepalese are unskilled and seasonal workers in agriculture and construction work.

 

 

2. REMITTANCE: DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS

 

Remittance is a financial resource flows arising from the cross-border movement of nationals of a country. The narrowest definition: unrequited transfers referring primarily to money sent by migrants to family and friends on which there are no claims by the sender (unlike other financial flows such as debt or equity flows) (Kapur 2004:1).

 

In certain developing countries(Tajikistan, Tonga, Moldova, Kyrgyz Republic and Lesotho and Samoa), remittances account for more than 20 percent of theGross Domestic Product (GDP). Remittances increase the recipient country’s foreign exchange reserves. Remittances also tend to be less volatile than other sources of foreign exchange earnings. Remittances support financial sector development through a strong and positive impact on bank deposits and credit to the private sector(Afram 2012:1).Remittance flows to developing countries exceeded US$125 billion (in 2004) making it the second largest source of development finance after foreign direct investment(Maimbo and Ratha 2005:2).

 

3. DIFFICULTIES OF ESTIMATING REMITTANCE

 

Remittance is emerging as an important source of external finances to any country. Even when remittance data is available, countries often classify it incorrectly. Many countries report workers’ remittances as ‘other transfers’. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between remittance and non-resident deposits. Only a few countries report bilateral flows of remittances (Maimbo and Ratha 2005: 4). Remittance cannot have exact numbers because remittance gets remitted through many channels: through banking,postal services, private players and hawala. So only those can be counted which have a proper receipt system.

 

 

4. WORLD WIDE REMITTANCE PATTERNS

 

Millions of migrants send remittances to the families and communities they belong. Worldwide, remittances are estimated to have totaled US$ 414 billion ( in the year 2009), of which US$ 316 billion went to developing countries (Afram2012:1).

 

Chinese diaspora is larger than India’s but they receive comparatively less remittance. China received around $1.7 billion while India received $8.8 billion for the year 1996 and over the next few years alsothe pattern was the same (RBI 2006: 9). Remittances are an important source of external financing for developing countries. International migration perhaps is the second largest source of net financial flows to developing countries(Maimbo and Ratha 2005:24). Generally it is assumed that remittances are affecting poor countries most. That is not completely true. In the last decade(1992-2001), of the top ten recipients of remittances (India, China, Mexico, Philippines, France, Bangladesh, Spain, Germany, Nigeria and Belgium), majority were from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development(henceforth OECD) countries. Of the $111 billion in total remittances in 2002, about three fourths (or $80 billion) went to the developing countries. The share of developing countries has increased from half in the 1980s to about three-fourths in recent years. The largest ten recipients have been quite stable over the decade (1992-2001) (Kapur 2004:4).

 

Diaspora engagement takes many different forms and occupies many different spheres. It ranges from family ties to the level of international financial markets, beyond the individual and family level.It includes associations from the locality, ethnic affinity groups, alumni associations, religious organizations, professional associations, charitable organizations, development NGOs, investment groups, humanitarian relief organizations, schools and clubs for the preservation of culture. Most direct impact is on family maintenance and on poverty reduction. For example in Tajikistan, 50 per cent of the households are dependent on remittance income(Newland 2004: 14). In poor states, remittances are critical for personal consumption. In Haiti, remittances were about 17 per cent of GDP.

 

In Somalia following the collapse of a formal government in the early 1990s, remittances from the Somali diaspora from the Gulf and from several other countries, became a critical survival resource for many Somali families(Kapur 2004:10).Top remittance receiving countries are India ($49 billion), China ($48 billion), Mexico ($22 billion), Philippines ($ 20 billion), France ($ 15 billion), Bangladesh ($ 11 billion), Spain ($ 10 billion), Germany ($ 10 billion) and Nigeria ($ 10 billion) respectively in the year 2009 (Afram 2012:19).

 

Remittances are more evenly distributed among developing countries. Top recipient countries are typically large countries such as India, China, Mexico, and Philippines. Remittances as a share of GDPare large in small countries such as Tonga, Tajikistan, Lesotho and Lebanon is in terms of remittances per capita(Maimbo and Ratha 2005:2).Remittance is less volatile during financial crisis compared to Foreign Direct Investment.Remittances enable better health care, housing, marriage, community works and education. Spending patterns, however, depend on factors such as the strength of the migrant’s kinship ties and intent to return to the country of origin. Migrants who intend to return tend to remit more than those who are permanently integrated into the host countries.Largest recipients of remittance from specific sources are the following: From United States it is India with $ 7.7 billion, France from Saudi Arabia with $ 6.9 billion, while Mexico from Germany is $5.7 billion and Philippines from Switzerland is $ 5 billion for the year 1992-2001 (Kapur 2004:6).

 

5. INDIAN SCENARIO

 

Migrant remittances have recently come up onto development agendas worldwide, forming a very important component of a nation’s balance of payments, especially for developing countries(OIFC 2009: 2). It is estimated that overseas Indians send an annual income of US $ 400 billion, equivalent to 30 percent of India’s GDP. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reports that workers’ remittances to India reached US$ 46.4 billion for year 2008-2009 up from US$2.1 billion in the year 1990-1991(Afram 2012:17). It shows that Indian remittance amount has increased from year to year. Maximum remittance India receives is from the US followed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates(UAE).

 

United States is home to 12% of the Indian migrant population while Gulf accounts for 42 per cent and United Kingdom accounts for 5 per cent of Indian migrants living in out of countries. India receives the highest amount of remittance in the world roughly $70 billion, while China ($ 60  billion), Philippines ($ 25 billion), Mexico ($ 22 billion) while Nigeria ($21 billion). It comes from three different countries, Qatar, United States, Australia, Bangladesh and Nepal. Largest amount (almost half) of remittance comes from Gulf (Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), it accounts for $32.7 billion (TOI, 2014)

 

The bulk of migration from India is to the Gulf and low skilled in nature, in occupations such as transport operations, repair and maintenance, construction, and domestic work. More recently, high-skilled migration has picked up: for example,academicians, doctors, nurses, businessmen, and most importantly IT workers/professionals. Temporary settlement in the Gulfkeeps the migrants in continuous touch with family. They return home in a year or two. Temporary migrantsarebound to return home since they are recruited for fixed periods,especially labour recruited for the Gulf. Temporary migrants send more remittance than the settled ones. India receives roughly a total amount of $70 billion as remittance of which $32.7 billion, i.e., almost half is from the Gulf. The Gulf is an important source for remittance(TOI, 2014).

 

Migrants send money back home to the families. More than half (61 percent)of the remittances received by Indian’s are used for family maintenance, that is, to meet the requirements of food, education, health, marriages, house constructions and so on (RBI 2010).Money is sent from parents to children and children to parents. India is acountry where looking after parents and older relatives, is the responsibility of children and younger relatives. Supporting eldersfinancially is a sign of being a good son and good brother. Sending money for special occasions like births, marriages and deaths is also a mark of commitment to family. Whenever migrants return home, they bring a lot of gifts for family members. It shows the importance of family to the migrant. On an average, about 20 percent of the funds received are deposited in bank accounts, and about 7 percent of the funds received are invested in land, property, or securities(Afram 2012:19). A cross-country comparison of the break-up of remittance inflows into the country shows that international remittances were received in the year 2007-2008by various states like Kerala ( (Rs. 51,211 crores) followed by Maharashtra (Rs. 26,481 crores), Tamil Nadu (Rs. 17, 277 crores), Punjab (Rs. 16, 505 crorer), Andhra Pradesh (Rs. 9, 512 crores), Delhi (Rs. 8, 392 crores), Gujarat (Rs. 8, 305 crorer), Karnataka (Rs. 7, 564 crores) and Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 6, 553 crore) (Tumbe 2011:18). Kerala tops the remittance list. It reflects the fact that Middle East accounts for the maximum proportion of remittances. Various states receive remittance in the following proportion with reference to the total remittances India receives (2007-2008)Kerala (34%), Maharashtra (17%), Tamil Nadu (11%) and Punjab (11%), while Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat receives 6% each. North America and Europe are the next largest host regions of massive remittance inflows into the home country(OIFC 2009:7) According to an RBI estimate in 2009-2010 an amount of US $ 53.9 billion was sent as remittance to India by Indians living abroad. This amount does not include the money sent through other channels(RBI 2010, data for 2007-2008).

 

India has overtaken China to become the world’s top remittance receiving destination. With remittance receipts of $ 70 billion by year 2014, India and China are the leading recipients of remittances worldwide. The proportion of households sending and receiving remittances was relatively higher in rural areas. About 5.2 percent of rural households claimed to send or receive remittances with an average value of Rs 1,025.93, and 3.1 percent urban households sent or received an average value of Rs 804.49 in remittances (Afram 2012:19).

 

6.  ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF REMITTANCE

 

Remittance helps to improve economic growth, especially if used for financing children’s education and health expenses. Even when they are used for consumption, remittances generate multiple effects, especially in countries with high unemployment. In India, a large part of remittances are invested in gold, real estate, housing to families back home.Remittances generate positive effects on the economy bystimulating demand for other goods and services(Afram 2012:5). The pre-liberalization phase has witnessed a fluctuating trend in the flow of private transfer receipts. The transfers increased steadily during the 1970s, remained more-or-less flat in the 80s and started picking up sharply during the 1990(OIFC 2009: 2).

 

Since the beginning of the liberalization era, these transfers have become an important component of India’s overall balance of payments. Remittances toIndia increased many fold between 1991 and 2003.making India one of the largest recipients of remittances in the world. Inward money transfer for family maintenance primarily was dominated by hawala but now other mode of transfers haveemergedand 40-50% money is transferred through proper channels. Host countries allow resident Indians to credit money to their home based accounts directly and they can make someone at back home to withdraw money from their account.

 

7. REMITTANCE AS FAMILY OBLIGATION AND CURRENCY OF CARE

 

In many developing countries remittances play a very crucial role as insurance. Remittances are an important source of family income and are one of the largest sources of financing. Remittances finance consumption, land and housing purchases and philanthropy, they are an important source of social insurance. They provide liquidity for small enterprises as well as capital investments, equipment, land, wells and irrigation works and education with longer-term implications for economic development. Remittances provide social protection to poor households.

 

Once upon a time, Indian diaspora was taken as a brain-drain for the country, but NRIs have supported their families back home through remittance and other forms of finance.India has moved in various ways formally to harness and acknowledge the expertise, wealth and contacts of the diaspora. The report by the Singhvi Commission on the Indian diaspora (GOI:2001) observed that many wealthy PIOs, individually and collectively support projects addressing basic needs such as health, education and infrastructure in their home states and villages in India, many NRI ophthalmologists run mobile eye clinics in India. During times of acute crisis (such as the Kutch earthquake), community and religious organisations have mobilised significant funds and expertise to help in relief efforts(COMPAS 2004:18).

 

The major forms of charity/donations other than remittances/gifts at individual family levels consist of contributions that are set aside for social causes, such as community based amenities for drinking water, roads, institutional support for health and education etc. Aid during disasters and conflicts, besides support for building religious sites (mosques/temples), crematorium, organizing religious festivals, feeding the poor, providing scholarships to a local school, and entertainment etc.

 

Remittances are a way through which migrants keep connection with the family members. It is a very powerful medium of care in Indian culture. It is seen as a symbol of love from parents to children and from children to parents. Remittance is sent in different forms, regular, occasional and as a gift. Routine remittance is sent always to the parents. Gift money is sent to younger siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews, as an expression of care for them. Sometimes, extended family members are also taken care of by the member living abroad.Remittance behavior continues across generations. Rarely, remittances are used to establish new businesses and industries (OIFC 2009:11).Remittance includes regular and occasional amount of money sent to the family for housekeeping, investment, re-payment of debts, and money for special occasions, for community work, building mosques and schools. Once these remittances improve the recipients’ living standards, they are invested in consumer goods, housing and land, and bank deposits.

 

There has been a lot of positiveimpact of remittance in India. But there are negative aspects also. Remittance has pushed up the prices of land and construction materials, consumer goods, and food articles, rent and charges on health, education, transports etc. this increase in prices has adversely affected non migrant households, especially those belonging to the lower middle class and fixed income groups in the region (Prakash 1998:3213). Series of abuses and poor living conditions lead migrants to committing suicide in the Gulf countries. As Arun Kumar writes in The Hindu,the number of suicideshas increased in the Gulf due to the work conditions as well as the terms of contract. Hoping for better life chances in other countries, most of these workers to the Gulfbeg, borrow money, and sell all they have to make their way to these countries of promised prosperity(The Hindu, 2012).Owen Gibson writes: “Official figures confirmed by the Indian embassy in Doha reveal that 237 Indiansworking in Qatar died in 2012 and 241 in 2013. A further 24 Indians have died inJanuary 2014” (The Guardian, 2014).Amnesty International Report 2014also has similar reports about the plight of Indian migrants especially in the Gulf. Migration is never an easy decision for migrants,especially if it is without family members. Gulf policies allows only very few professionals to bring their family with them. Large numbers of migrants leave their family members back at home. Long separation from the family gives a lot of pain and disturbs them. The family back home suffers a lot without husband/father.While male migration may be associatedwith a higher likelihood of remittances, women may need to fill in for absent husbands in manyways including care of animals, and work on the family farm or in the family business (Jetley1987: WS47-53). In some instances the sporadic nature of remittances mayalso forces women to generate cash income through wage work (Gulati1993). There are also a not insignificant number of female only migrations, where women leave theirhusbands and children behind to work as nurses and domestic workers.

 

8. CHANNELS AND PROCEDURES OF REMITTING

 

Handling billions of dollars in remittance is a lucrative business today. Major nationalised Banks in India and Indian Postal services andprivate financial enterprises like Western Union money transferare playing an important role in the field of exchange. These agencies charge from 6-14 per cent of remittance amount as fee while the traditionalhawala system, common in South Asia and the Middle East, is much cheaper at 2.5 percent and is believed to account for nearly 40 percent of all remittances to India.

 

The hawala system is an informal fund transfer system. The sender contacts a hawala agent locally, who receives the money and provides an authentication code to the sender. The sender informs the beneficiary about the transfer and provides him with the authentication code. The hawala agent updates his counterpart in the beneficiary’s country. The beneficiary contacts the local hawala agent who pays him the corresponding amount in the local currency. The hawala agents later settle dues by mutual understanding through transfer of either goods or services. The operation is easy and cheap but the potential anonymity of the transfer is increasingly coming under the scanner of the authorities as money to fund terrorist and other illicit activities can also be used through this route.

 

Through hawala there was transfer of fundsin 2000-2002 of Rs. 708 crores in Kerala. Money was deposited in different branches (74 branches)in Mumbai in different phases. Later it was deposited in different banks branches in Kerala. Money sender was from Dubai who collected money from there and sent them on a very low exchange rate to homeland.A largenumber of hawala transactions are believed to be usual,involving the transfer of remittances from migrant workers to their relatives.Many of the migrant workers from theKerala, especially those in the Gulf prefer to use the hawala system as it offers better exchange ratesand a faster, efficient and more reliable method of sending money home thanthe legal waytransferring money through banks etc.(Frontline,2004).

 

The remittance market in India is serviced by commercial banks, nonbank Money Transfer Operators (MTO), Foreign Exchange Bureaus, Cooperative Banks, and IndiaPost, as well as many commercial entities acting as correspondent agents (sub-agents). Many of these entities enter into commercial arrangements with exchange houses and other entities in the sending countries to source remittances from the migrants. Banks have the largest share of recorded remittance inflows to India (60-80 percent, including Internet-based remittances, which are routed through banks), and MTO account for the rest.

 

The interbank infrastructure used for remittances has played a big role in reducing remittance-processing time and has enabled Remittance Service Providers to move funds faster to their agents. MTOs such as Western Union (WU), MoneyGram, and others, all operate in India through alliances, partnerships, and sub-agencies. India Post offers various remittance-related facilities, such as international money transfers, and has partnered with WU to support the transfer of funds using its network. Finally, with the increasing use of technology among financial service providers, Internet-based provision of remittance services is a fast- growing business (Maimbo and Ratha 2005: xv).

 

It is evident that the true cost of sending remittances is small. Exorbitant fees 13 percent on average and frequently as high as 20 percent charged by money transfer agents are a drain on hard-earned remittances of the migrants. These fees especially affect poor migrants who remit only small amounts and are forced to pay proportionally more. Informal channels, for example, regularly charge fees under 1 percent. It is reported that some formal agents in Hong Kong, China, charge a fixed fee of only US$2.50 to transfer funds to the Philippines. High costs are in part a result of inefficiencies in the regulatory framework. Large remittance service providers have persuaded the postal network, banks with extensive branches to sign exclusive contracts that limit the access of competitors to these well-developed distribution networks. (Maimbo and Ratha 2005:8)

 

9. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

 

Now almost all nationalized banks have the facility to allow peoples to receive remittance from anywhere in the world. Most banks have remittance schemes, other deposit schemes.

Western Union money transfer and other private players have come up in the money transfer business in India.

 

 

 

India postal service also has money transfer facility that is the biggest boon since postal services covers rural India too extensively (in some places bank facility is not available).

 

Cost of remittance can be lowered by applying the following methods/techniques and policy changes. If all remittance receivershave access to bank accounts, and Indian banks open theirbranches in host countries this would definitely lower the cost of remitting. Government needs to regularize the cost of remitting money and also needs to bring transparency in it. Technology can help to reduce the cost to some extent. Many countries are using technology in providingremittance and other financial services. The G-cash product in the Philippines and M-pesa in Kenya are successful examplesof providing remittance and other financial services through mobilephones(Afram 2012:82).

 

 

Presence of large telecom service providers in India can surely help in reducing the remitting cost. Not only will lowering the cost of remitting benefit but government also needs to introduce certain financial plans through banks which can help them to get loan or better interests on the deposit.

 

 

Safaricom has highest mobile subscription in Kenya, it lets customer send and receive funds though mobile phones.http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-and-m-pesa-why-money-in-kenya-has-gone-digital/

 

10. REMITTANCE, INVESTMENT, FDI AND PHILANTHROPY

 

The FDI in India has gone up in post reform period. India is an important region when it comes to FDI investment. The estimated amount of FDI in India during the last decade is as follows: (rupee in crores) in 2010-2011 it was estimated at around Rs. 178, 110 (crores) (Anitha 2012:116), which is far behind the remittance sent by Indians to back home.

 

Investment of remittance completely depends on the receiver; most of the money is spent on household expenses like: livelihood, housing, healthcare, schooling and the remaining amount is invested in land and banking deposits.Comparingregions, Southern Indian states receive much more remittance than the rest of Indian states. Within southern states, Kerala receives highest remittance.Remittance isprimarily for family maintenance rather than investments.NRIshavethe expertise of managing enterprises and small scale industries. Indian diaspora includes very prominent and high profile individuals from the field of academics, business, research and development, politics and social services, they contribute in their respective field through their knowledge and expertise of the subject.

 

India tries to tap investment from its diaspora by issuing bonds to them through RBI in association with SBI (State Bank of India). It has tapped assets from its NRIs on the following occasions: (1) India issued India Development Bonds (for US$ 1.6 billion, at 9.5 percent in US dollar terms, it was basically to check the payment crisis in 1991. (2) In 1998 India issued Resurgent India Bonds (US$ 4.2 billion, at 7.75 percent in US dollar terms, it was followed by the sanctions which were imposed after the nuclear explosions in 19983. (3)In 2000, India issued India Millennium Deposits (US$ 5.5 billion), at 8.5 percent in US dollar terms. These schemes provided NRI Indians with very high returns. These funds were raised by Indian diaspora to counter the foreign exchange crisis in the country. (Afram 2012:15)

 

Remittance surely contributes in development in receiving countries, United States,Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates contributes large amounts to India. Unlike FDI, remittance goes directly to the family. So it has a direct impact on poverty alleviation in the household.

 

CONCLUSION

 

No doubt remittance plays a big role as a game changer in a country’s economy as well as in the development of people’s life conditions back home. But for this, sometimes they pay a huge price. Many Indians in the Gulf suffer in very harsh living and working conditions.Long absence from home creates an adverse impact on family members specially children.Women have to play a ‘double role’, role of mother and father both. Sometimes money sent from abroad becomes the reason for fight and jealously with the family members who are not earning or not directly related to the one who is working abroad. There have been several instances of illegal confinement of Indians abroad, and their travel documents have been seized. Looking at the huge share of remittance in the GDP, such dependence on remittance is not good sign for the future of a country’s economy. Life has been different for the different emigrants living in many countries. Working conditions and life style for the migrants to the Unites States and European countries are much better than the Gulf.

 

Better support system from the government can bring several changes to the life and work conditions of Indian migrants abroad. A better recruitment policy and support from local embassy can bring fruitful changes. It is important to establish transparent recruitment contracts as soon as possible.

you can view video on Remittance and its impact

 

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  • India’s highest amount of Remittances comes from the Gulf
    http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-12-01/news/56614713_1_remittancesbangladesh-and-nepal-fdi
  • PNB Remittance Center opens new LA Branch to tap $12B overseas earnings from California
    http://globalnation.inquirer.net/120865/pnb-remittance-center-opens-new-la-branch-to-tap-12boverseas-earnings-from-calif/(accessed on April 17, 2015)