For the third consecutive year, India received remittances exceeding $100 billion. India has maintained its position as one of the leading recipients globally for more than 25 years, following the IT sector expansion in the 1990s, and has consistently held the top position since 2008, according to an ET report. The increase in services exports and movement of skilled professionals to developed nations in North America and Europe contributed to these transfers, complementing the traditional inflows from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The flow of remittances correlates with employment situations in source countries and migration trends in recipient nations. The number of Indian international migrants has grown from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024, with their proportion in global migrants increasing from 4.3 per cent to over 6 per cent in this timeframe. Approximately half of all Indian migrants worldwide are located in GCC countries. An analysis in the Reserve Bank of India's monthly bulletin highlights that "The competitive edge and the penetration of Indian IT services overseas at the start of the century, the number of skilled emigrants to advanced economies, especially to the US, has risen significantly. Thus, besides the GCC, advanced economies have also emerged as a major source of inward remittances to India over the years". In 2024, Mexico secured the second position with inward transfers of $68 billion, whilst China ranked third with $48 billion in estimated inflows. India's remittances demonstrated remarkable growth at 17.4 per cent, substantially exceeding the global average growth projection of 5.8 per cent for the year.

The diaspora's financial contributions have increased by 63% since 2020 when the pandemic began. "The recovery of the job markets in the high-income countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been the key driver of remittances," according to a World Bank blog. Despite inflationary pressures in source regions including North America and Europe, the upward trend continues. "This is a reflection of dependents in India being more reliant on relatives," observed Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. "Partly due to fall in domestic income as well as inflation being high". The Reserve Bank of India, which considers private transfers in the balance of payments as remittances, anticipates sustained growth. The central bank projects these inflows to reach approximately $160 billion by 2029.