Outward Remittances under LRS reaches USD 2,396 million in May, up by 3.6% YoY: RBI
New Delhi, July 23
Outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme for resident individuals grew 3.6 per cent year-on-year to USD 2,396.42 million in May 2026. The total foreign exchange outflow under the scheme climbed from USD 2,313.16 million in May 2025, according to data published in the RBI Bulletin.
The data revealed that the cumulative outward remittances under LRS for the full 2025-26 financial year reached USD 28,979.36 million (USD 28.9 billion). On a month-on-month basis, the May 2026 figure reflected a recovery of 4.8 per cent from USD 2,286.59 million recorded in April 2026, though it remained lower than the USD 2,594.87 million remitted in March 2026.
Travel remained the largest single category of foreign remittances during the month, accounting for USD 1,282.63 million in May 2026, compared to USD 1,389.23 million in May 2025, down by 7.6 per cent.
Within travel-related expenditure, other travel, which included holiday trips and payments for settling international credit cards transactions, formed the largest segment at USD 831.44 million. Travel for education stood at USD 422.97 million, business travel recorded USD 13.95 million, travel for pilgrimage accounted for USD 10.13 million, and travel for medical treatment totaled USD 4.13 million.
Outflows toward overseas investments and bank deposits showed notable growth during the period. Investment in equity and debt rose significantly to USD 363.64 million in May 2026 from USD 104.94 million in May 2025.
Foreign bank deposits expanded to USD 118.12 million from USD 54.65 million over the same period. Remittances for the maintenance of close relatives dropped to USD 289.11 million from USD 322.54 million, while gifts declined to USD 201.50 million from USD 233.30 million.
Remittances for the purchase of immovable property stood at USD 35.76 million, studies abroad at USD 92.61 million, medical treatment at USD 4.92 million, and donations at USD 0.69 million.
— ANI
Reader Comments
The increase in equity and debt investments is interesting - from $104 mn to $363 mn! People are definitely diversifying globally. But I worry about capital flight when our own markets need liquidity. RBI should monitor this closely, yaar. It's a double-edged sword.
Travel being the biggest chunk at 53% of total remittances - that's over ₹10,000 crore for holidays abroad! 😲 I'm all for people spending their hard-earned money as they wish, but when our own infrastructure needs investment, it stings a bit. Maybe tax incentives for domestic travel?
Good to see remittances for parents/family maintenance dropping slightly - could mean families are becoming more self-reliant or NRIs are settling abroad permanently? 🤔 But the education segment growing is positive - our students are getting global exposure, which benefits India long-term.
Every month we see these staggering LRS figures, but I never hear about the middle-class families who can barely afford one foreign trip in a lifetime. The gap between haves and have-nots is widening. ₹20,000 crore in one month is more than our entire healthcare budget for some states. 😔 #EconomicReality
Investment in foreign equity jumping 246% YoY shows people are losing faith in our markets? Or just chasing better returns? 🤨 Meanwhile, MFs in India are booming too. The wealthy are hedging their bets. Smart move, but our policymakers should ask why so much money is flowing out for investment.
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