Brain Drain: Why are educated, skilled Indians moving abroad?

KAKALI DAS

Few months ago:

To the unversed, Jack Dorsey has resigned as the CEO of Twitter.

Parag Agrawal, born and brought up in Mumbai, studied at IIT-Bombay joins as the new CEO.

The country celebrated this news as if “ache din” has finally arrived. However, soon Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, jumped in. He tweeted: USA benefits greatly from Indian talent. It’s a bitter truth.

Because in this very month, the government informs the Parliament that over 6 lakh Indians have given up Indian citizenship since 2017. It’s the Brain Drain of the ’70s and ’80s all over again – this time on steroids.

Despite the Indian Independence in 1947, the Quit India Movement still continues. The British had left, and now the Indians are leaving too. In fact, Chinmay Tumbe of IIM-Ahmedabad has found that: From 2010 to 2019, the net annual outflow steadily increased and averaged around 1.5 million or 4,000 people per day, nearly 10 times higher than the average in the 1990s.

Indian diaspora is increasing by the day. But how many will return to the country eventually? On 30^th November 2021, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, told the Parliament that over 6 lakh Indians have renounced Indian citizenship since 2017. 1.11 lakh have left in 2021 alone.

He has told the parliament that a total of 10,645 people had applied for Indian citizenship between 2016 and 2020, and 4,177 people were granted the country’s citizenship. 6 lakh Indians left the country, and merely 4,177 people from abroad became Indian citizens… Not fair!

The Indians here are leaving for greater opportunities – company heads, politicians, astronauts etc. But, why are talented people leaving the country? And do we care enough about the brain drain? The cause was not revealed in the parliament, but it must be known. Because if one wants to give up on his/her citizenship, one has to fill the form XXII and write their reason for doing so. So, why not disclose the reason for brain drain?

Brain Drain: Why are educated, skilled Indians moving abroad?

The government can scream about the loss suffered due to the farmers’ protest, and about how much is spent to clean spit stains on railways. But if they are asked about the number of farmers that died in the farmers’ protest, they would zip their lips. The centre, in fact, said, “No record of farmers’ deaths, so no question of compensation.”

Anyway, it may cross our mind that the population of the country is also very high, so does it matter if some people leave the country? According to the Global Wealth Migration Review, “7000 high net worth individuals or ultra-rich Indians left the country in 2019.” We are only behind China in this case. In the year 2020, 5000 Indians left despite pandemic restrictions.

And as per Morgan Stanley report, “23,000 millionaires have left India since 2014, and 7,000 in 2017 alone.” The Finance Minister of West Bengal has claimed that 35,000 high net worth entrepreneurs left India under the Modi govt.

It’s important to address this issue, as these people could have paid taxes, given opportunities to many here had they stayed. Now, they will be paying taxes to a foreign nation, and contributing to the growth of these nations. Whether or not black money returned is unclear, but talented individuals in the country are leaving every year.

What is attracting their attention abroad? Why are Indians quitting?

It’s because of the better investment opportunities, wealth preservation, lifestyle, health care facilities. The high net worth individuals leave for a better quality life. According to CS Global partners, some countries give nationality in return for large investments. The ultra-rich ones grab this opportunity. For the United Kingdom, they require a great business plan and you can apply for an entrepreneur VISA and start a business there.

Besides, we have renowned institutions like the IITs and IIMs, but none of our institutions rank in the top 100 in the world. Thus, students are always keen on going abroad for higher education and settling down there.

Does this system here have the capacity to attract the ultra-rich or talented individuals back? Instead, over 1 crore aspirants, here, are waiting for 3 years for the exam schedule of group D railway. Moreover, the wage gap is also one of the causes of brain drain. Skilled labour is valued more abroad than in India. For example: According to the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), the average wage of a person in the US is more than 6 times of their Indian counterpart in Academia.

What can be done to stop this brain drain?

After liberalisation, in the late 1990s, ‘reverse brain drain’ began as NRIs returned to India in big numbers. Another reason for their return was the dot com bubble burst. However, the reverse brain drain continued even after the year 2000.

Because, at this time, the Indian economy was booming faster than foreign economies. Films like Swades (2004) explored this idea of reverse brain drain in it. In fact, the Sensex was skyrocketing around this time, observing the growth of 310%. The US equivalent had only grown by 62%. So, growth was clearly and relatively visible in India.

The circumstances have changed, now. After demonetization and GST, the economy suffered another blow by the hands of the coronavirus. Even though, a few solutions to brain drain are as follows: Healthy competitive environment for business, studies, and research; creating employment opportunities for highly skilled professionals; increasing funding for scientific research; developing infrastructure conducive for technological advances.

At one point, the ease of doing business rank was celebrated in the country, but the World Bank observed data juggling and stopped it. It’s extremely difficult for the small businesses to run in this country. China once went through the similar problem of brain drain.

They started the Thousand Talents Plan – an open invitation to their top scientists around the world. The plan offered scientists funding and support to commercialise their research, and in return the Chinese government gained access to their technologies. In this manner, in a few years’ time, China was able to get 7000 of its top scientists back in the country.

We salute the global CEOs of Indian origin, as they have made name for themselves, and for the country. But it also points to the bitter truth of brain drain. Can this change? Not until we are fighting amongst ourselves, boycotting our own brands in petty politics.

How can we think of becoming a superpower without these talented people?

[December, 2021]

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