KATHMANDU, Jan 14: Remittance inflow increased by 10.9 percent to Rs 416.81 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year despite a fall in the number of outbound workers during the period.

According to the Current Macroeconomic report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the number of individuals seeking the permit for foreign employment during the period between mid-July and mid-December was declined by a whopping 77.9 percent. Similarly, the applicants for the renewal of foreign employment also went down by 69.4 percent.

In terms of the US dollar, the remittance inflows stood at $ 3.52 billion, an increase of 6.4 percent in the same period last year. This posts an encouraging picture in terms of remittance, which is the main source of foreign currency earning for Nepal. The NRB officials attribute an increasing use of banking channels for the rise in remittance amount of the country.

The NRB report also contradicts with the projection made by international organizations including the World Bank (WB) earlier. The WB in its report entitled ‘Migration and Development Brief’ released in October showed that the amount of money migrant workers would be able to send home would face a decline of 14 percent by 2021 as compared to the pre-COVID-19 level in 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crises continue to spread even today.

Along with the remittance earnings, the country received a net transfer worth Rs 459.87 billion, a growth of 8.5 percent during the review period. In the same period last year, net transfer declined by 1.1 percent.   

 
• remittance
 
• increase
 
• pandemic