Outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme rose 3.6% to $2.74 billion in August 2026. RBI data showed that overseas investment helped drive this growth. While travel spending stayed steady, money sent for equity and debt investments jumped significantly. Meanwhile, remittances for overseas education fell by 39.9% during the month.
Outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for resident individuals were up 3.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August 2026 to $2.74 billion, supported by an increase in overseas investment, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
The data showed that during the month, investment in equity and debt rose 111.28 per cent YoY to $321.5 million compared with August 2025. Similarly, remittances for the purchase of immovable property were up 9.91 per cent to $39.6 million, while remittances for deposits were up 18.8 per cent at $50.8 million.
The largest component, travel-related remittances under the LRS, was up 0.7 per cent YoY to $1.63 billion compared with last year.
Similarly, remittances for overseas education were down 39.9 per cent YoY to $191.8 million, while those for gifts rose 13.3 per cent YoY to $215.7 million.
The LRS was introduced in 2004, allowing all resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction, or a combination of both. In the initial phase, the scheme was introduced with a limit of $25,000, which was gradually revised.
Remittances rose 4.5 per cent YoY in the April-August period of FY27 to $12.55 billion, led by overseas investments, despite a dip in travel abroad and overseas education. Remittances for investment in equity and debt doubled to $1.73 billion, while deposit-related remittances rose 36.15 per cent YoY to $381.1 million. At the same time, remittances for the purchase of immovable property rose 12.7 per cent YoY to $225.03 million, while travel-related remittances were down 0.8 per cent YoY to $6.9 billion. Remittances for overseas education were also down 33.6 per cent YoY to $664.5 million.