By country · The Gulf
It is the newest of India's great migrations and by the numbers the biggest: some nine million Indians in the Gulf. How a change in the price of oil in 1973 rebuilt Kerala, created a remittance economy — and left a harder story in the labour camps.
For the first time, the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore together send more money to India than the Gulf — 51.2% of remittances against the Gulf's shrinking share. Behind India's record inflows is a diaspora quietly changing shape: from Gulf labourers to Western professionals.
The Gulf is India's second-largest source of remittances after the United States, and for millions of workers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the monthly transfer home is the whole point of being abroad. Here is how it works in 2026 - exchange houses vs apps vs UPI, the AED-INR rate that decides everything, and the tax rules for the tax-free NRI.
An OCI pays Indian tax on Indian-source income — rent, interest, capital gains — under residency rules that tightened again on 1 April 2026. The TDS regime, DTAA relief, TCS on outbound money, and the traps, explained.
