The amount sent through postal money order was even higher about five years back--it was as high as Rs 700 to 800 crore, but it declined because more and more people started relying on private money transfer firm. This because the official money order charges more money. Besides,sometimes postmen deliver the amount after much delay as they lend the amount to earn interest from these amount.

Bihari migrants of Delhi send maximum amount of money to be followed by those living in Punjab and West Bengal. These migrants are not educated enough to have their bank accounts.

It is only the skilled and semi-skilled migrants living within the country and outside who rely on banks and Western Union to transfer money back home. If that amount is added Bihar would certainly become the largest overall remittance earner in the country.

True there is very few industry in essentially agrarian Bihar, but its rich human resources have really brought about a big social and economic changes in the last two decades. This has both positive and negative impacts. While money is getting pumped into the state from different ways there is rise in social tension within the family, marital discords have increased and incident of rapes have also risen significantly.

According to the Census 2001 the number of permanent migrant labourers going out of the state stand at over 24 lakh. The figure had got doubled between 1991 and 2001. This figure does not include seasonal migrant labourers estimated at around another 70 lakh and working almost everywhere across the country.