Calcutta: Remittances into the country are likely to fall in 2009, impacted by economic recession in the developed countries and a sharp fall in the exchange rate of the dollar against the rupee. Inward remittances have already declined over 12 percent to $23.2 billion in the first six months of this year over the same period last year.

In 2008, India received remittances worth $52 billion, the largest in the world. According to data by the Reserve Bank of India, private transfers, including NRI deposits, declined to $9.8 billion in the first three months of 2009 from $14.1 billion in the year-ago period. However, transfers in the April-June quarter increased to $13.3 billion from $12.2 billion a year ago.

"Remittances to India surged significantly in the last three quarters of 2008 following a 25 percent depreciation in the rupee against the dollar," a World Bank report on Migration and Remittances Trends 2009 said.

It stated that a significant part of the fall in remittances to developing countries from the UK was because of an over 25 percent depreciation in the British pound against the dollar, reducing outflows in terms of the dollar.