• The Liberalised Remittance Scheme by the RBI allows resident Indians to remit up to USD 250,000 annually abroad for education, travel, healthcare, gifts, and investments.
• It is a foreign exchange policy initiative introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 2004, intended to simplify and streamline the process of remitting funds outside India. 

Liberalised Remittance Scheme Availability

• LRS is available to all resident individuals, including minors and students.
• The eligible citizens must have an Indian bank account, a valid Permanent Account Number (PAN), and a passport.
• The scheme excludes corporates, Hindu Undivided Family (HUFs), partnership firms, and trusts.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme Limit

• A resident individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year for permissible transactions.
• Cannot use the remittances for margin trading, buying lottery tickets, real estate, etc.

Prohibited Transactions

• Purchase of lottery tickets, banned magazines, transactions with FATF non-compliant countries, gifting in foreign currency to another Indian resident’s foreign account etc.

Budget 2026 Update

• The TCS on LRS for Health and Education has been reduced to 2% from the existing 5%.
• The TCS on LRS for Health and Education has been reduced to 2% from the existing 5%.

Source: The Indian Express