Liberalised remittance scheme outflows ease in February 2026 as equity investments pick up

Indians sent $2,338.60 million abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme in February 2026. This was lower than January’s $2,680.43 million. December 2025 had seen $2,263.67 million.

The drop came mainly from slower overseas travel spending. Travel is still the biggest use of LRS money, but the post-pandemic rush has clearly cooled.

One category stood out. Investment in foreign equity and debt jumped to $265.99 million in February 2026. This was sharply higher than the $178.86 million recorded in January, a 48.7 per cent rise.

This shift matters given that by the final quarter of the financial year, many affluent investors and high-net-worth families use the last few weeks to diversify into global stocks. They also make full use of their annual $250,000 LRS limit before it resets on April 1. Year-end tax planning and portfolio rebalancing play a key role. High valuations in Indian equities have added to the push.

On the inward side, remittances stayed strong. In the October-December 2025 quarter, inward remittances rose 5.1 percent year-on-year to $37.8 billion. For the first nine months of FY2025-26, net remittances grew 11.3 per cent.

The RBI is optimistic about the final quarter. In its Monetary Policy Statement on April 8, 2026, the central bank said: “expected robustness in services exports and inward remittance receipts during Q4:2025-26 should keep India’s current account deficit moderate and within the sustainable level in 2025-26.”