Outward remittances under RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme exceed $20 billion in January-August 2026

Key facts

• Outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) crossed $20 billion during January-August 2026, reaching approximately $20.09 billion against $19.08 billion in the same period of 2025, a rise of 5.26%.
• The RBI's LRS allows resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 in a financial year for permitted current and capital account transactions.
• Travel was the largest LRS component with $10.96 billion in January-August 2026, up from $10.67 billion a year earlier.
• Investments in overseas equity and debt instruments rose 86% to $2.61 billion during the eight months ended August 2026, from $1.40 billion a year ago.
• In August 2026, travel remittances of $1,630.26 million accounted for nearly 60% of total outward remittances of $2,738.58 million, with investments at $321.53 million and maintenance of close relatives at $275.43 million.
• Education-related travel remittances nearly doubled from $450.16 million in March 2026 to $855.52 million in August 2026, while other travel remittances rose from $623.05 million to $713.80 million over the same period.
• In FY 2025-26, travel remittances totalled $16.438 billion, followed by maintenance of close relatives at $3.539 billion and equity and debt investments at $2.652 billion.