Indians spending abroad at record high; overseas spending rises 17% to $31.7 billion in FY24

Indians have set a record of overseas spending in FY24. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), Indians have spent a whopping $31.7 billion which is nearly a 17% increase over the $27.1 billion recorded in FY23. The annual data for remittances depicts that this surge occurred despite the imposition of tax collection at source (TCS). However, there was drop in the monthly average spending following the TCS implementation in October 2023.

Overseas spending

The data also reveals a significant rise in overseas travel spending, which reached $17 billion in FY24—an increase of more than 24.5% compared to $13.6 billion in the previous year. The share of international travel in LRS spending in FY24 has climbed to 53.6%. In FY20 before the pandemic, the share was 37%. In FY21 due to restrictions on movement, the International travel spending had plummeted to $3.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the overseas spending for education abroad has declined. During the pandemic in FY21, this remittances accounted for 30% of the total. In FY22, it further declined to 26% after travel restrictions were lifted. In absolute terms, the spending on education fell to $3.4 billion in FY23 from $5.2 billion in FY22, reducing its share of overall spending to 12%. In FY24, spending on education remained flat at nearly $3.5 billion.

Education has also lost its position as the second-largest category in forex spending. Indians spent more on maintaining relatives abroad, totaling $4.6 billion, than on education

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