Remittance inflows play a vital role in financing India’s current account deficit, supporting the rupee, and complementing national savings and investment. This study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model using annual data (1993–2023) from the World Development Indicators to analyse the determinants of remittance inflows to India. The bounds test confirms a stable long-run cointegrating relationship among the variables. Results show that rupee depreciation, higher host-country incomes, increased FDI inflows, and greater trade openness significantly boost remittance inflows in the long run. The Error Correction Model (ECM) reveals a high speed of adjustment, with 76% of disequilibrium corrected annually, while trade openness alone influences the short-run remittance inflows. The study concludes that strengthening macroeconomic fundamentals, enhancing financial integration, and protecting migrant interests are crucial for sustaining remittance inflows and ensuring India’s economic growth and stability.