Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Remittance inflows surged by more than 41.2% over the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. to reach a record Rs 1,916.90 billion.
According to the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation Report for the first 10 months of the Fiscal Year 2025/26 released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Tuesday, remittance inflows reached a record Rs 1,916.90 million in 10 months.
Remittances had gone up by 13.3% in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
These substantial inflows helped Nepal post a current account surplus, a strong balance of payments position and a sharp rise in foreign exchange reserves.
Nepal received remittances worth Rs 257.49 billion in Baishakh alone (mid-April to mid-May), up from Rs 165.30 billion in the same month a year earlier. This means the country received more than Rs 8.5 billion in remittances every day.
In US dollar terms, remittance inflows rose by 33% to $13.26 billion, compared with a 10.6% increase in the same period last year.
The strong growth in remittances pushed net secondary income, which mainly comprises transfers such as remittances, to Rs 2,091.86 billion in the review period, up from Rs 1,480.28 billion a year ago.
The Department of Foreign Employment granted first-time approval to 335,510 Nepali workers in the first 10 months of 2025/26, while 326,364 received renewed entry approvals. In the same period of the previous fiscal year, the figures stood at 405,610 and 280,314, respectively.
Current account surplus widened significantly to Rs 729.28 billion during the first 10 months of the fiscal year, compared with a surplus of Rs 272.53 billion in the same period last year. In US dollar terms, the current account surplus stood at $5.05 billion, more than double the $2.01 billion recorded a year earlier.
Similarly, net capital transfers increased to Rs 14.65 billion from Rs 8.48 billion in the previous year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in equity form also improved to Rs 16.96 billion up from Rs 10.58 billion in the first 10 months of the previous fiscal year.
Likewise, the balance of payments (BoP) remained in a surplus of Rs 863.56 billion in the first 10 months, almost double the Rs 438.52 billion surplus recorded in the same period of the previous fiscal year. In US dollar terms, the BoP surplus stood at $5.98 billion, up from $3.23 billion.
Forex reserves at record high of Rs 3,704.55 billion
Driven by the strong external sector performance, the gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 38.3% to Rs 3,704.55 billion in mid-May 2026 from Rs 2.68 trillion in mid-July 2025. In US dollar terms, reserves rose by 24% to $24.19 billion.
Reserves held by the NRB increased by 36.6% to Rs 3,298.38 trillion, while reserves held by banks and financial institutions rose by 54.4% to Rs 406.17 billion. Indian currency accounted for 20.6% of the total foreign exchange reserves.
According to the central bank, the country’s foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to cover prospective merchandise imports for 22.6 months and merchandise and services imports for 19.2 months based on the current import trend.
