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NEW DELHI: Remittances are projected to fall by about 23% in 2020 to $ 64 billion In India – a striking contrast with growth of 5.5% and receipts of $ 83 billion seen in 2019, as the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak and travel restrictions make a huge dent on flows, a World Bank report has estimated.
The coronavirus-related global slowdown and travel restrictions will also affect migratory movements, and this is likely to keep remittances subdued even in 2021. The projected remittance growth of 5.8% in 2021 will keep total regional flows at about $ 115 billion, the report said.
“Remittances to South Asia are projected to decline sharply by 22% to $ 109 billion in 2020. This is a significant and unprecedented deceleration compared with the growth of 6.1% seen in 2019,” said the report titled Covid-19 Crisis through a migration lens .
“The deceleration in remittances to the South Asian region in 2020 is driven by the global economic slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak as well as oil price declines. The economic slowdown is likely to directly affect remittance outflows from the United States, the United Kingdom, and EU countries to South Asia. Falling oil prices will affect remittance outflows from GCC countries and Malaysia, ”the report said.
The crisis has created a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India and many countries in Latin America. As a result, the Covid-19 containment measures might even have contributed to spreading the epidemic. The loss of jobs and livelihood has also ruptured an important lifeline to rural households in many countries, the report said.
It said the lockdown in India has impacted livelihoods of a large proportion of the country’s nearly 40 million internal migrants. Around 50,000–60,000 moved from urban centers to rural areas of origin in a span of a few days. The government set up camps with basic provisions to provide shelter to these migrants in cities and districts of destination, transit, and origin.
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The coronavirus-related global slowdown and travel restrictions will also affect migratory movements, and this is likely to keep remittances subdued even in 2021. The projected remittance growth of 5.8% in 2021 will keep total regional flows at about $ 115 billion, the report said.
“Remittances to South Asia are projected to decline sharply by 22% to $ 109 billion in 2020. This is a significant and unprecedented deceleration compared with the growth of 6.1% seen in 2019,” said the report titled Covid-19 Crisis through a migration lens .
“The deceleration in remittances to the South Asian region in 2020 is driven by the global economic slowdown due to the coronavirus outbreak as well as oil price declines. The economic slowdown is likely to directly affect remittance outflows from the United States, the United Kingdom, and EU countries to South Asia. Falling oil prices will affect remittance outflows from GCC countries and Malaysia, ”the report said.
The crisis has created a chaotic and painful process of mass return for internal migrants in India and many countries in Latin America. As a result, the Covid-19 containment measures might even have contributed to spreading the epidemic. The loss of jobs and livelihood has also ruptured an important lifeline to rural households in many countries, the report said.
It said the lockdown in India has impacted livelihoods of a large proportion of the country’s nearly 40 million internal migrants. Around 50,000–60,000 moved from urban centers to rural areas of origin in a span of a few days. The government set up camps with basic provisions to provide shelter to these migrants in cities and districts of destination, transit, and origin.
