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The age of reverse brain drain- discouraging or inspiring?
The recent newspapers screaming out: 'India on its way to becoming an economic superpower' , 'India has surprassed
U.S.A. in terms of the second highest F.D.I.(Foreign Direct Investment) being poured in' 'Sensex soaring like a raging bull, estimated to hit 16,000 by end 2006' 'Salaries of young professionals on a rise like never before' all this has culminated in more IT-professionals and people from other fields to pack their bags from U.S. and come back to their home country. Infact, just yesterday, there was an article in a leading national daily that a MBA graduate, of Indian origin, from Harvard is planning to come down to India for his future job prospects. The reasons being the growth rate of India ( a phenomenal 8% ,as projected by our Prime Minister ,although a lot of private companies put this at a much higher figure) has not only surprassed that of any other country in Asia but has also facilitated the migration of higher middle-class folks into upper-class.
Well, all this being reiterated again and again, lets ponder and contemplate what implications would this have on all of us. It is still fresh in our minds when the 'Brain Drain' from India to western countries, like U.S. and U.K., started in early 1990s. Because of the huge IT workforce that U.S. acquired, the U.S. dollar soared against the Indian rupee, from a 31.09rs. per dollar to a stagering 46 rs. per dollar. With the reverse of that happening now, wouldn't it be the safest for us to hypothesise that the in recent years, Indian rupee will soar against the U.S. dollar. The inflation rate in U.S.A. will increase and maybe, just maybe( although the Democrats would be totally assured) that George Bush would have to wage another war against a fuel-rich country to boost his economy. How I wish I could see Michael Moore ( the director of Fahrenheit 9/11) giving me the thumbs-up when he would read this piece.
Continuing on this optimistic note, one just has to look around and he will be able to notice the changes that are omnipresent everywhere . Cheap domestic airflights arethe in-thing: Air Deccan, Spice Jet, Go airways, Air Sahara, Indian( thats what Indian Airlines are gonna be called from now-on). Also the many more biggies are planing to jump into this business as it surely is a profitable venture. But the downfall of this (as said to me by my pal in McKinsey) , is that after a certain time, only one airway will be able to profitably operate on a low-cost route.
Then the Golden Quadrilateral Project, linking the four metros, is definitely a feather in the hats of the civil engineers of India and also Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Also the talks of linking Delhi to Bhopal to be taken up by the Malaysian Government. And finally Aamchi Mumbai- being converted to Shanghai by 2020. Is that possible or just a far-fetched dream? The latest is that it is gona cost a whooping Rs.28,000 crores but the trick is that the builders are gona incur the costs and who knows, we'll have a slum-rid Mumbai.
In conclusion, the reverse of brain drain will make India emerge as one of the economic superpowers. Hail to all those people who are working tirelessly to make this dream a reality. Jai Hind.
Published: January 05, 2006
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