Kathmandu, May 13 -- Remittances from Nepali workers abroad have continued to defy expectations. They have risen to Rs729.02 billion, a 16.5% increase from the same period last year, according to a nine-month update report by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

Last year, in the same review period, remittances fell by 4%. In the immediate months after the lockdown, there had been a drop from Rs79.3 billion in March 2020 to Rs34.5 billion and Rs54 billion in April and May 2020 respectively. But in 2021, Nepal received Rs86.8 billion in April alone.

Remittance to Nepal was estimated to decrease significantly: 18% by NRB, a worst-case scenario of up to 28.7% by the ADB, and a 14% drop later revised to 12% by the World Bank.

South Asia as a whole...