Remittances’ activity

After having watched the video on remittances available at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I3uURDuDAM

Try to answer to the following questions (more than one answer might be allowed):

1. Who is Dilip Ratha?

- A senior economist working at the World Bank
- An Indian economic migrant residing in the United States
- An Indian economic migrant who has spent his childhood in Sindhekela

2. When did he leave India?

-At the age of 14 years old
-At the age of 16 years old
-At the age of 10 years old

3. What are remittances?

-Money wrapped with love
-The quantity of money send back to the country of origin of a migrant living abroad
-The amount of income taken into account into both the GNP and the GNI (Gross
National Income)

4. How did he send money back home at first?

-He was used to send money back to his family through financial checks by postal mail
-He exploited the money transfer service provided by Western Union
-He used the money transfer service provided by Ria

5. How long did it take to transfer money home from the United States?
-Up to 12 weeks
-2 days
-1 week

6. Was sending money back home through the above method secure and cheap?
-Yes, both secure and cheap
-It was secure but not cheap
-Neither secure nor cheap

7. Why?
Letters sent by postal mail are not secured by any means. This process is also quite
costly as you have to first pay for the delivery of your letter. Secondly this procedure can
take as much time as a quarter of a year and multiple trips to a faraway bank to get hold
 of the money not even mentioning the high fees charged on this financial check by the
bank as foreign exchange commission.

8. Why did Mr Ratha send money back home? List at least 3 reasons:
To replace their old house.
To build classrooms for his old high school.
To finance business investment of his friends.

9. How many Indians live abroad?

-70 millions of Indians
-50 millions of Indians
-1/5 of the Indian population

10. Where are most of the Indians residing abroad based?

-In the United States
-In the UK
-In the Gulf countries

11. Are Indians reding abroad low skilled or highly skilled?

-Highly skilled
-Low skilled
-We cannot say if they are low or highly skilled

12. How are most of them being employed?

-As doctors
-As nursers
-As construction workers

13. When does the level of remittances go up?

-When the family left behind is in trouble
-When the economic conditions in the country of origin are not good.
-When the family left behind need money.

14. Is sending remittances costly nowadays?

-Yes it is
-No it is not
-We cannot answer to this question.

15. Why?
Because of regulations to fight money laundering and to stop illegal terrorist
organizations from being financed from abroad.
16. How can remittances be used nowadays in India?
A Non-Profit Remittance Platform = Peoples Bank
To provide financial services for people in need. For example a little consumer loan,
small education loan or a large business loan.
17. Which project has Mr Ratha in mind in order to use money saved by Indians abroad?
Bonds backed by remittances.
Indian migrants savings per year are about 45 billion dollars and most of this money
is stored in bank deposits with zero interest rate. India could for example issue a bond
for remittances with a certain interest rate and then use that money from the interest
to finance new infrastructure that could help develop the country, like a school, an
airport or a hospital.