Rajesh Abraham By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The fall of rupee to a record low is a bonanza for the remittance-driven Kerala economy and its over 24 lakh emigrants. With July-August being the holiday season in the Gulf, where 90 per cent of Kerala emigrants are based, the fall in rupee will provide unexpected gains for those travelling back home, experts said.

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A large number of emigrants in the Gulf travel to Kerala in July-August, the annual school holiday period in the region. The employees are entitled for an annual leave of 3-6 weeks with pay, which is normally one month’s salary. So, a person earning 10,000 riyals gets an extra Rs10,000 just due to this year’s fall in rupee, said an analyst.

Kerala accounts for about 40 per cent or $27.6 billion of $69 billion remittances that India attracts every year. This means, even if the remittances remain the same this year, Kerala will benefit by $1.96 billion or Rs 1,350 crore just due to the fall.Remittance accounts for over 30 per cent of Kerala’s economy. “Given that Kerala is a remittance-driven economy, the fall is good. But the continuous fall of rupee against dollar isn’t good for Indian economy,” said Joseph K V, a migrant expert and former member of the Kerala Public Expenditure Committee.