There has been a remarkable rise in the flow of remittances in India from migrants present in

different countries and has contributed immensely in the economic growth of India. India received
an inflow of $58 Billion in 2011 and has a projected figure of $70 Billion in 2012-2013.
Migrants profile:
Most of the migrant workers of Indian origin are based in Middle east. In the current scenario,
remittances from US, UK and Canada are on a rise because of the surge in outsourcing of IT services
and other short-term work assignments handed to them by their employers.
Motivation for remittances:
To understand the motivation behind the transfer of money, we need to further analyze the broader
economic consequences because of few parameters. The amount transferred by the migrant
depends on his motivation to go abroad and transfer money. The purpose of remittances is to affect
the consumer of these funds and his usage of this money determines the impact on the economy on
a whole. It was found that more than 50% of it is used for family maintenance, the rest amount is
either deposited in banks or it is invested in property or securities.
Profile of Migrants:
Indians residing in overseas have a varied and diverse profile and it can't be determined easily as the
income level range and social status in the host countries depends on the type of job they are doing
there. Most of the migration from India is of low skilled labourers, however the rate of high skilled
migration has picked up too.
The Indians residing in United States are mostly naturalized citizens and other hold temporary visas
or permanent residency. They are better educated as compared to the native population or migrants
from other countries. The income level is on a higher side too. Canada migration generally happens
for a university degree in management or for that matter any professional degree. Again average
income of an Indian migrant is higher as compared to the national average. The same goes for
population migrating to countries like United Kingdom, Malaysia, UAE and other middle east
countries though the skill levels of migrants in middle east are quite low.
Factors affecting Remittances and consumer behaviour
There are some factors which influence the amount of cash inflow from migrated country some of
which are-
Income: It is the primary factor deciding the amount which a migrant transfers to his family. If the
family of the migrant has children, more proportion of the income is sent to his family, to make the
children's education and household maintenance easy for them. If the migrant is a male or female, it
also affects the proportion of income sent.
Gender: Generally females have an average income lower than their male counterparts, so it affects
the flow of cash from the host countries.
Children in the family: The presence of children in a family makes the available income to the
migrant less from which the remittances are made. The migration could be rendered permanent to
increase the money to be sent and make their necessities to be met in the household.
The consumer of these remittances are family members or relatives of the migrants. In the low-
income level families, they are usually dependent on the money coming from the host countries of
their family member residing there. It puts a lot of pressure on the person sending money as he has
to meet all his necessities and his family necessities in the same income. Most of the time, the
amount of money demanded increases on account of acquiring a property, paying back loans,
marrying their children etc.
The middle class migration happens when there is a person who got a scholarship program or needs
more continuous flow of income in the same kind of job that one is doing here. The migrated family
member sends the money monthly or after a regular time interval to his home as it is a source of
good income for the family. If they need to buy some property or a vehicle, this money comes very
handy.
When we look at the more affluent lot in our country, most of the students migrate to different
countries in order to pursue higher education or to attain a professional degree. Usually they don't
need money to be sent to them, but it happens in case of huge acquisitions like expanding one's
business, buying a luxury item etc.
So the consumer demands and behaviour varies according to the income levels they are currently in
and the region they migrate to. This gives us a fair idea about how to go about various money
transfer methods and schemes.