KATHMANDU: The remittance has increased by 23 percent in the first month of the current fiscal year amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Nepali migrant workers abroad sent Rs 92.71 billion during mid-July to mid-August. The remittance inflow had increased by 2 percent around the same period last year.

In mid-July to mid-August, the number of Nepali youths receiving a final labor permit (both institutional and personal) has gone down by 99.2 percent. The number had gone down by 19 percent during the same period last year.

Similarly, the number of those applying for renewal of labor permit has decreased by 80 percent.

This number had gone down by only 1.3 percent during the same period last year.

World Bank had predicted that Nepal’s remittance inflow would decrease by 14 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic. Likewise, Nepal Rastra Bank had projected fall in remittance inflow of Nepal by 10 percent.

But, the result has come the other way round. The remittance inflow has increased this year compared to the same period last year.

What increased the remittance?

Economist Gyanendra Adhikari says it is normal to see increment in the remittance immediately after a pandemic. According to Adhikari, it might decrease again. The remittance had increased immediately after the 2015 mega earthquake in Nepal.

The sudden hike in the remittance inflow can also be attributed to the  Nepali migrant workers who were rescued from abroad during the coronavirus pandemic, say finance experts.