The combined wealth of the 23-million strong non-resident Indians community is estimated to be over one trillion dollars--more than Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about 850 billion dollars (The Indian GDP is however estimated to have crossed the trillion dollar mark in May 2007).
The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects for 2006 reported that India for the first time overtook China as the nation whose workforce remits the highest amounts, an indication that Indians have emerged as the top "alien" workforce
Overseas Indians are estimated to hold financial wealth, apart from real estate, gold and art, of over 500 billion dollars. The total wealth would be over one trillion dollars, according to the report by High-Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) appointed by the Indian Government to suggest ways to make Mumbai an international financial centre.
However with the rupee appreciating sharply, the Indian economy crossed the US$1 trillion mark in May 2007 making it the 12th country to achieve the milestone, according to Credit Suisse. India's foreign-exchange reserves crossed $200 billion for the first time on April 6, as per the data released by the apex bank, the Reserve Bank of India. Seventeen years ago, India's forex reserves were barely $1 billion. The reserves at the end of December 2003 totaled $100 billion.
