PROMISES COME HOME WITH REMIT2INDIA

Indians working overseas sent home

USD 69 billion as remittances in 2017*. Not only does that account for 2.77% of the country’s GDP**, it places India on top of the list of countries receiving remittances from its diaspora across the globe. While this is interesting, what is more interesting is the story behind every remittance. These are stories of Hope, Happiness and Promise.

One such story is that of Sunita, a chartered accountant, who moved from Mumbai to Melbourne to pursue her career dreams. Leaving her parents and her brother behind was a tough decision since her father had retired and Sunita was the only earning member of the family. However, she could not let go of the opportunity to work in Australia. So while leaving for Australia, she made her family a promise: “I might be far away but I will always be there for you.” Sunita makes it a point to save a fixed sum of money post her expenses to send back home. She regularly sends money for household expenses, her parents’ health insurance and for her brother’s university tuition fees.

Ganpat Rao, a farmer in Bolepali village of Maharashtra, too is a happy recipient of one such promise. He was struggling with meagre yield and even lower purchase price for his crops. Every year the situation only got worse. In spite of the hardships, Ganpat Rao ensured that his son Bhale Rao got a decent education. He didn’t want Bhale to be a farmer and suffer the same fate. Ganpat Rao had to borrow money to fund his son’s education. Bhale, being a witness to his father’s struggle to get him a university degree, put his studies to good use. He landed a job in Sydney as a software developer. When he was leaving for Sydney, he made a promise to his father. “Baba, I will repay your loans and make sure you will never have to borrow money again.” Bhale keeps his promise by sending money to his father regularly through Remit2India to manage the household and farm expenses. Ganpat Rao’s loans were all repaid by his son spends on health is USD 170 per year. We can’t just take 1.3 billion people and divide by the total health benefits. We have to work into the right area of the market where Australian products might best compete.”

Another speaker at the event, Gary Sussman from the India-Israel Forum presented his own perspective on doing business in India. He observed, “If you have the patience to understand the cultural dimension, you can do a lot in India. I think the biggest mistake foreigners make, is they give up on their companies after three years, but believe me, India is a long journey. In 12 years you will gradually start reaping the benefits if you show consistency. The main thing you need to focus upon is relationships, which becomes your insurance policy while making money in India.”

He added, “As well, most companies think of Tier One cities when it comes to establishing a business. It’s time to change that perception because India has a lot a potential in its Tier Two cities which is yet to be touched.”

AIBC vice president Preeti Daga said, “The event aimed to demystify India and provide insightful information for anybody wanting to engage with it. Both our guest speakers Gary and Michelle highlighted the opportunities, challenges and provided practical advice for businesses.”

Rakesh Malhotra, acting Consul General of India (Melbourne), Cameron Abbott, partner at K&L Gates and Marcus Mandie, CEO Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce, were among the significant people present at the event.

Shakti Singh and he didn’t have to borrow money ever again. The son lived up to his promise and continues to do so.

Promises like these - big and small - add up to $69+ billion dollars in remittances each year. Millions of NRIs use various remittance services to send money back home and Remit2India is one such provider. One of the leading providers of remittance services since 17 years, Remit2India has been helping NRIs keep up to their promises with fee-free instant money transfer service from Australia to India.