Behind the euphoria of higher remittance

Had it not been for migrant workers, life would have been tough like in countries with low foreign currency reserves.

For some time now, one piece of news on the migration front has been a steady drumbeat about the increasing remittances sent home by Nepali workers from around the world. In the last fiscal year alone, Nepal received a record of nearly $ 10 billion . A direct impact of this happy state of affairs has been on our foreign currency reserves. At last count , it stood at $10.8 billion, not quite the all-time high of $11.3 billion achieved in early 2021 but getting there. Most importantly, we have managed to avoid the fate of two of our neighbours, the much larger and richer Pakistan and the still wealthy but currently hapless Sri Lanka, both struggling with depleted foreign exchange reserves.