Remittance inflows rise 39.1 pc to over Rs 1,659bn: NRB

KATHMANDU: Remittance inflows rose 39.1% to Rs 1659.41 billion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025/26, according to the macroeconomic and financial situation report released by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Monday. The increase contrasts with a 10.2% rise recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Remittances for the month of mid‑March to mid‑April (Chaitra) stood at Rs 209.75 billion, up from Rs 139.54 billion in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year.

In US dollar terms, remittance inflows increased 31.9% to $11.55 billion during the review period, compared with a 7.5% increase in the same period last year.

Net secondary income, which includes transfers such as remittances, reached Rs 1820.42 billion in the nine‑month period, up from Rs 1303.12 billion in the same period of the previous year.

On foreign employment, the NRB reported that 294,186 Nepali workers received first‑time approval for foreign employment in the review period, while approvals for renewed entry totalled 293,259. In the same period a year earlier, first‑time approvals were 358,222 and renewed entries were 249,652.

The central bank’s report highlights the continued importance of remittance inflows for Nepal’s external receipts, even as patterns of overseas employment show a decline in first‑time approvals and a rise in renewed entries.