Dubai, Oct 7: Kerala continues to attract the bulk of remittance by Indian expatriates living in Qatar, followed by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Remittances to Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal have shown a marked increase, according to the Peninsula newspaper.

"Remittances to India have increased by 10 to 15 per cent over the past year with low-income workers being major contributors to the outflows," Brahma Rao, general manager of Trust Exchange, was quoted as saying.

"The fast money transfer services were becoming increasingly popular with the Indian expatriates and the conventional demand draft (DD) business was showing a downward trend," he added.

Over four million Indian workers in the Gulf region remit nearly US$5 billion a year.

The largest transfers originate from Saudi Arabia, which accounts for 63 percent of all remittances. Close to $415 billion was remitted by Indian expatriates between 1975 and 2002, according to official figures.