Brain Drain
Published by Aakarsh under India on Saturday, March 11, 2006In 1998, the renowned Indian Institute of Technology sent 30 percent of all of its graduates to the U.S., including 80 percent of its computer science graduates. Indian Govt. spends over Rs.10Lakhs on each IIT graduate, during his IIT stint.
Much of the R&D in India goes to service research projects of only Imperialistic Countries.
The number of students flying to USA have increased double-fold in 1990s, compared to 1980s. A meaty chunk of this population have secured H1-B visas (working visas) and later on "GREEN CARDS" and are serving USA.
As on March 2001, more than a million Indian-born individuals were residing in the United States — more than double since 1990.
According to UNDP 2001, of the 81,000 U.S. visas approved between October 1999 and 2000, 40 percent were for Indians, of whom more than half were computer-related professionals, a sixth for sciences and engineering.
In 2001, the net fiscal loss associated with the U.S. Indian-born resident population ranges from 0.24% to 0.58% of its GDP.
The United Nations reports that India loses $ 2 billion a year in resources through the brain-drain of 100,000 skilled computer professionals to US alone.
When will this end?How?
21 comments:
Yeah, just keep all the IITians in India to deal with unappetizing work ethics. Send all the hundreds of thousands of other "second class" engineers produced every day to other countries.
Just keep the best medical students to deal with abysmal facilities and poor pay. Let those who don't qualify in the nerve-wracking, suicide-inspiring competition take up dentistry and go to the US.
Brain Drain is not just India's problem. Other countries, including imperialistic ones, have it. If the country doesn't appreciate what it produces, they'll go looking elsewhere.
This is a classic case of "you can use statistics to prove or disprove a point"
-India could use a million less people consuming its natural resources
-IITians and others(assuming they work in professional jobs) would have to drive to work adding to the volume of traffic and associated pollution (and health effects for those IITians)
-What about outsourcing opportunities and revenue generated because of them (atleast as taxes for those jobs), mostly due to software companies which are at least in part supported by NRIs(did the post consider how much India is gaining because of foreign investment when it was estimating the revenue loss? )
- The numbers quoted in the post are atleast 5 yrs old. Do they hold true even today? According to the same numbers India's GDP increased the last year didn't it? Point to be driven home: GDP is an indicator for how well an economy is doing (even that is disputed I'm sure)but doesn't tell much about the overall living conditions of the people.
GDP? surprisingly the word springs up everywhere these days but dude seriously...do u believe in all that shit?cannot help agreeing with walker here that stats do help driving home a point but u know wat really GDP is? the amount of money u will get if u sell a country today...well sell the country, sell the resources or sell the best brains available...ultimately " u live by choice and not by chance" therefore if i feel my country does not appreciate what i have done and what i can achieve;if i dont work according to my potential i'll never b satisfied wth what i do and if a foreign company gives me all that along with gr8 remunaration and work environment in a pollution free society...i say why not? mere statistics canot hold be back..
see this is how an impractical film like RDB can confuse u utterly..dude is upto u to decide whethet u want to be a mohan bhargav or u want to be kamal aakarsh. remember ur choices and preferences.
Sketchy--> There are few IITians who choose to stay back and who make headlines now and then, even though the so-called facilties provided to them are minimal.A country will appreciate what it produces(atleast India does..where IIT,IIM, IISc etc. students are always deemed as elite lot) provided the students give it a chance. How can it appreciate when the student is procuring a US visa when he is in 3rd year.
And regarding poor pay,you are unaware of the placements here.They are sky-rocketing.update yourself.
Some of the best entrepreneurs in India are IITians & IIM guys, who kicked the best jobs abroad and choose india.Infact, IIMs have a chunk of students who have the fire to work in the grassroot level(courtesy:NDTV..every-year after placements,NDTV showcases some talents who kick the foreign jobs to nurture unusually brilliant ideas) and improve the living conditions of people here.I met a guy like that, through Anil(my friend). And yes, Anil being from IIM-A, choose to stay back he wants to do something on his own...here, in India.
So, blaming someone or something is easy.but yet, it is up to oneself and his will..to choose.
Ravi-->well, does an IITian need a traffic exemption or pollution exemption because he cleared IIT.And will the health hazards start exactly after his IIT and not before that.if the same guy could drive through same traffic during his Pre-IIT stint why cant he do it later on.you are comparing this factor because you are experiencing the comfort of No-pollution and therefore finding it as pluspoint.thats hardly any reason.
And yes, some NRIs might be backing software companies and generating employment here which i very well appreciate. dont get me wrong.My post is not about people who are repatriating their earnings to do something here..but only about those who dont look back and who dont contribute to homeland.
Baala--> statistics was just a tool.they cant hold you back. But then, what was it that held back so many brainy guys here.it was not RDB..or Mohan Bhargav.i think u understand why i respect Narayan Murthy more than Lakshmi Mittal.
RDB didnt confuse me.for that matter, the message it had is right.Forget complaining, if you want better things, change them yourself.
Why should our cream-lot work for the infamous/dastardly USA?
If the best minds dont improve things here,Who will?
that is exactly my point aakarsh... if i want to change my country and the aspects i dont like about it i need some basic amneties,facilities to do that. but if u see carefully the country is changing. look at IIM A placements this year...u see 500 odd job offers for 200 odd students(no dearth of jobs ..thats for sure)..18 of them rejecting foreign offers...15 odd of them wanted to set up their own business and a lot were happy wth their domestic placements. can u believe it? 18 of them refusing foreign offers? this shows that there is a trend rising where the young n brainy ones dont want any part od USA not becoz they sre prejudiced about the country..simply becoz they probly love India more.
but the question here is y so? why? because the basics in India is improving..it will improve give it time..a 100 million population cannot possibly expedite the changing mindset process.it will change for better and for sure. ur friend for example..proud Indian he should be..
well thumbs up to your friend...but still the question lingers...y wud u want to bite dust in uncertainty in tryin out new things in ur country despite knowing it for a fact that u have one of the best brains in the country and can really get rewarded for having that.? who wants to be the brainiest and the poorest of a lot?
think about it...
I was being sarcastic - even the IITs and IIMs that choose to stay often do so because ppl are willing to pay competitively...why do they have 500 job offers for 200 students, while millions of other engineers/management students are produced across the country?
what needs to change is this mass production of "educated professionals" who feel snubbed because no one wants them, and who end up working harder in other countries. If the 'not-so-brilliant' ones find (more lucrative?) opportunities outside, at least smart ones will follow.
Software companies are only now looking to train 'non-engineers' and are supposedly "surprised" with their talent. Truth is, talent abounds in India, but still has to begging elsewhere for opportunity.
Kamal this is for you. I would like to sing a song for you on your arguments....."Yoooooooooooovaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......Oh Yuva Yuva Oh yuvaaaaaaa...." i guess since the perspective of urs is quite panoramic but unfortunately i dont see any iota of thinking out of the box thing. or even some rationale in talking abt grassrooot thing
it's interesting that you chose to reply (and expound)on the IITian-traffic issue (which was a sarcastic observation) rather than GDP or points that were more relevant.
So i am in the august company of NRIs who dont want to buy my motive come what may!
Anyways, Ragz--> you can still visit india and try to know what some sudents are doing here, kicking foreign jobs.it doesnt need any rationale to see things happening. Nor it needs any song for the youth.
Ravi-->the numbers are 5 yrs old.ut with the brain drain escalaing every year, do you want me to give you real or extrapolated figures. and yes, GDP may not indicate living conditions but thats where we have to improve.If we are selling the best minds for mere VISA-application fees,then only ploiticians will be left to improve..which is an obvious paradox.
not to talk away anything from indian skilled professionals...but i beg your pardon if not for the software boom and the outsourcing the "India Shining" burning or whatver wouldnt have been possible, we have seen how much india is capable of producing jobs for itself. Its not about being in USA and talking, its about seeing the both sides of the coin. MNCs come to India because they see skill which an average american wouldnt be able to aquire so quickly. Regarding the grass root level, well it'll be refreshing to see people doing that, but eventually it'll all be money talking. And who else is better equipped than you to understand that. And the IITians well I can initiate a whole different argument about the attitudes of IITians whether in India or anywhere. The creme dela creme of India are a big nohopers in working attitudes inspite of their extreme skill sets.
Arguments can be many...abt attitudes or whatever. But my basic question still remains, "If the best Brains dont improve things here,Who will?".. Politicians?
ok.. me too here! When I was in US, I used to conform to Chandu's PRC's, and ragz's perspective. But since I have returned, I have to conform to Aakarsh's perspective.
wv: earwjbm
Aakarsh,
India has greatly benefitted from all these folks who went out of the country in the 80s and 90s. When you talk about 'change' in India...it will not be brought about those who would have otherwise ended up living a mediocre life. By going abroad, they have acheived a lot and in turn is benefitting India now. In recent years, India is also shining. So, some folks are not planning to go abroad.
By being in India and working in a multinational or other company making many lakhs....that is no different from going abroad and making money. Atleast there is foreign exchange, more jobs for others back here and there is higher chance of getting knowledge back when they come back to India (or even visit).
The only way there can be an impact...is by getting into politics and such. So, how many are doing that?. And those that have the drive to do that...will do that anyway...no need to throw statistics and all.
Anyway, you might see this as just another guy from abroad justifying things. I do realize that in some sense those of us who are abroad have run away...but this kind of statistics and emotional crap related to brain drain is not right. Just imagine...especially in 80s and 90s...those folks staying back...working in some ONGC or some other company chugging away. You might say they would have worked in some reputed companies..but generally engineers are not paid well in India. Its only the management and other graduates that make money.
Anyway, I can go on and on but let me stop here. Yes, there will be a day and time when going abroad is not that attractive. But for that to happen, our political system has to change...as real progress comes from 'rule of law' and 'sensitivity to life'.
when you say that the basic question remains,"If the best Brains dont improve things here,Who will?".. Politicians?"
i must say that i am not too sure of the questions. you are either under estimating the politicians or over estimating the IITans n IIMs
donot forget that our current Prime minister or the current President are no ordinary people..they were the creme-de-la-creme when they were students or professionals..they chose politics because i am sure they were not satisfied with the system as a student. what have they achieved till now? ur own stats show that braind drain is still in a climbing mood. so the question is even if the best brains combine with politics..how effective can they be. i know for sure that atleast to me...they have failed miserably to improve any situation from a student's point of view!!!
so let it be as it is. its our choice again and let us decide wat is best for us...when we start improving, the mass starts improving, the country will improve automatically..
Que Sera Sera dude..relax and have a beer...we are not the cream in discussion here so we are not in the way of our counry progress or otherwise.
"Que Sera Sera dude..relax and have a beer...we are not the cream in discussion here so we are not in the way of our counry progress or otherwise."
hahahahah
very interesting blog..and even better comments..i agree with aakarsh..and i feel many of these ppl are just making excuses..'no basic amenities'..sure,and if the best brains keep running off to the states,i can see how well the basic amenities are going to develop.
as for foreign investment coming in, has anyone actually checked to compare the proportion of wholesale foreign investors to retail foreign investors?or even tried to figure out how much more India would have grown if these ppl had stayed back?yes, GDP does not show the overall living conditions;doesnt this make u realise that these foreign-runners could probably have contributed more to the living standards of our people by staying back?(by wrking at the grass root level or otherwise)
basic India is improving, but dont you think this is because people have started staying in India?to put it more clearly, basic India is improving because the number of our graduates running off to foreign countries has been at a decreasing rate the previous few years..and as a result of this, more grads are staying back..notice the cycle?the connection?it is screaming-someone has to make a start!dont just sit aorund waiting for someone else to do that!!!
going off to a foreign country because your own does not fufill your requirements, there is no 'scope' in your own..that is a sodding excuse to give..(i agree not everyone has to be as passionate about our country as me, but there is a limit to everything!!!) i mean, if you have the gall, go out there and change the system..try, at least..dont just run away without even trying!! and if you claim you have, but havent seen any hope, they you just havent tried hard enough!!remember, winners never quit and quitters never win!
and no, this is no frustrated never stepped outside my city social worker speaking..i myself am in a foreign country, with full intention of returning back once i am through with what i am learning..i have seen both sides of the coin, interacted with a zillion nris..and believe me, all this has only strengthened my belief in what i have just written here!!
btw, this doesnt go to say i have nothing to say about the lads who have stayed back,n their 'contribution' to the country..i have lots,but m afraid akarsh will be seething mad at me for taking up all his blog space ;)
anonymous-> blogspace is not my problem at all. and yes, do reveal your identity dude!
does that mean u agree with what i have to say?
i will have to agree..atleast for the fervour you have.So i take comfort in the fact that i do have company...
i'm one of the creamy layered ones referred to in some of the comments. some of my batch mates went abroad and many are in India.
I have just one question: what gives anyone the right to impose social responsibilities on others? IMHO, its a personal choice.
Let me make another controversial statement. I do not think that if these people had stayed back, there would have been much of a difference. And I know IIT and IIM ppl upto 1975 either abroad or here. I compare ppl who decided to go and ppl who decided to stay; both with desire to contribute to the country. The people who went abroad achieved a lot more and are in a better position to contribute than batchmates who stayed back!! Its just that the system in US allows one to grow but ours does not, even though its improving.
let me ask: why ask an IIT/IIM guy to stay back and why not u do the work u think he was supposed to do? its nice to give speeches like any politico, but if u really believe in social contribution, stop blaming others and get on with ur work!
if the question is abt govt subsidy being wasted... let me tell u that ALL IITs and IIMs will be happy to stop it and get rid of mindless govt intervention... the effective cost of an IIT/IIM education is very low whatever the fees may be Rs 10,000 or Rs 10 lacs... banks sponsor u and u actually pay nothing...
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