Blog: Reverse Brain Drain: What's the Reason Behind this Homecoming?

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Reverse Brain Drain: What's the Reason Behind this Homecoming?

There is a promise of opportunities in the country
Reverse Brain Drain: What's the Reason Behind this Homecoming?

Once having been badged as the “brain-drained”, the Indian expatriates are now ready to carry another tag: “Ghar Wapasis” or the Indian “Job Stealers”? The country is now seeing repatriation of innumerable overseas Indians. What is causing this homecoming?

The late 1980s and early 90s saw a spate of emigrations taking place from India. Innumerable Indians left for the US, the UK and other giant economies in search of job opportunities, higher standard of education for children, and a better lifestyle in general. According to the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, a total of 219,09,875 Indians haven taken up jobs abroad in developed economies (as on May 2012). Especially those from IT backgrounds had hopped into the pool of opportunities provided by the huge IT hub that emerged after the Second World War in the US. But now these Indians are heading back to India in what is being called the “Reverse Brain Drain”.

Galore of layoffs are being conducted by multinational companies, especially in the United States which serves as one of the biggest base to Indian emigrants.  Almost every other week, one or the other corporate giant is making announcement of cutting down employees. Beginning in 2012, HP has laid off as many as 55,000 employees so far; Microsoft announced that it would be laying off 15 per cent of its current employees. There are many such companies looking at layoffs for one or the other reason. The oil industry in the US is cutting off a huge per cent of jobs too. On the other hand, the Indian job market is opening up. There is a wave of hiring taking place across Industries.

After the formation of the Modi government, there is a promise of opportunities in the country. Budget 2015 outlined great scope in terms of job creation; the increased investment in the auto, manufacturing and defence equipment has opened up potential avenues in the job market. The ambitious “Make in India” project has already promised increase in opportunities in the manufacturing sector. Further, the 1,000 crore fund allotted for startups and entrepreneurship opens up a can of projects that have been waiting to move forward. All of these are likely to push the economy forward.

India is said to be the fourth largest startup hub in the world and with the dotcom bubble, there’s a boom in the e-commerce sector. Companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, Zomato are all growing at a tremendous pace. There are sweeping mergers and acquisitions in the market. With such developments within India Inc., there is an immense range of opportunities in the job market. Even if one were to look at the salary structure, it is almost the same as that in the US or the UK, especially for senior level positions. All of these are of course supported by the fact that Indian companies are seeking to expand globally.

India being an emerging economy, not just in terms of job prospects, but also in terms of access to international-level education, lifestyle, the country is now encapsulating higher standards. Thus, the reverse brain drain is being witnessed across industries, especially banking and finance, telecom, infrastructure, etc. 

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Topics: Life @ Work, #Trends

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