Reverse Brain Drain

Over the past decade, this phenomenon has been witnessed. It has been a bitter-sweet experience, sweet for the desis who stayed back!

I passed my engineering in '92, well into the era of software. It was almost a norm for one to prepare for his GRE, and get going to the USA for higher studies, en route to a job abroad and life as an NRI. Of course, those who did not make it always had somebody in Dubai or nearby, who could land them a decent job. I remember, in those days, the Times of India (Bombay) had a special edition for Jobs abroad, and guys would unfailingly pick up copies of the same week after week.

Basically I think people were looking to earn in foreign currency, to escape the predictably low salaries in India (I started at Rs.1,500 p.m. in '92!). Some like me did stay back, for many reasons as different as low ambition and family pressures. For me, it was bit of both, more of the former to be brutally honest. I did try to convince my friends about the joy of being in India and celebrating life and festivals with loved ones....!

Well, in retrospect, I did well. My humble career has followed the Indian economy, and today my salary is decent even when converted into USD.

What really gives RIs like me the greatest joy is to see that all those guys who went abroad have gradually seen that today India is not such a bad place to work at all.... today with technology, one can effectively work from anywhere... and lets face it... there is no better country to bring up your children...

So we have the reverse brain drain... people coming back to India. Welcome back, from those who never left!

R.Krishnakumar.