Dubai: The historic crash of the Indian rupee may not bode well for Indians living in India, however it is a blessing in disguise for most expatriates who are remitting huge amounts home.
Abhijeet Hylton, an accountant working in the hospitality sector, will be sending two instalments of his home loan in India. “My home load is fixed at Rs35,000 each month and with the fall in the rupee I stand to save over Rs3,000. I plan to send instalments for two months as I stand to gain Rs6,000-Rs7,000 approximately. That amount will cover other household expenses such as my daughter’s school fees.”
Naveen Ranka, a senior accountant with a Dubai-based company remitted Dh25,000 on Monday. “I support my parents back home in Jaipur, Rajasthan, but I always watch the market and wait to get a good exchange rate. On Monday, when the rupee fell to an all-time low in three years — a rate of 18.88, I immediately remitted the money I had been waiting to send. In big volumes like this one stands to gain at least Rs14,000. Besides the money I send home, I also am trying to make a real estate investment and this fall, although not good for India, works well for expatriates.”
Ranka advises Indians to not remit money every month, but intermittently after studying the market so that one can extract the maximum exchange rate benefits.
Dr Swapnil Nagvekar, a Dubai-based radiologist was expecting such a fall in the Indian rupee. “For many years the Indian rupee has been very volatile and I had some prior knowledge from friends in the market who told me that the rupee would fall very low. In fact I have been told it might tough the 20 mark. This is good news for expatriates although when we return to India we hope the rupee recovers its position. I have invested in real estate in Goa and will be remitting a big amount soon.”
Dr Nagvekar advises people to keep remitting small amounts of not more than Dh5-10,000. “Over a period of time one can derive the cumulative benefit where the exchange rate averages out,” he said.
Mahesh Simepuraskar, a financial executive in a Dubai-based company feels most Indian expatriates, were expecting this news of the rupee crash and waiting for the time to remit money. “I feel lucky as I was planning the first grand birthday celebrations of my son back home in Calangute, Goa which would have cost me at least Rs500,000-600,000. In addition, I am also buying a house in Matusa area of Goa. This crash has meant a saving of Rs50- 60,0000 and made it more comfortable for me to meet both these expenses,” said Simepuraskar, who remitted Dh30,000 to India on Monday.
