Reverse Migration:

India, as a job hub holds its charm for foreign professionals and Indians alike

Cynics who might have voiced doubts over Newton’s third law of motion which states: ”Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”, have been hushed by the evolution of a new trend in the Indian job market, primarily known as “reverse brain drain”, which is the resultant of the upsurge in outsourcing and massive job-cuts in countries like USA and the UK. The expatriate Indians and the IT professionals of foreign origin, who have been rendered jobless are now seeking greener pastures in India. In fact there are reasons galore for this trend being in vogue.

Research says:

In the annual industry leadership forum called, NASSCOM, leaders had unanimously agreed that the Indian market has burgeoned to the next level of maturity and is all set to flourish further. By2008, forecasts Mckinsey, IT services and back-office work in India will grow in leaps and bounds, to a whopping $57 billion annual export industry, employing 4 million people and accounting for 7% of India’s gross domestic product. This anticipatory growth is alluring more bright and promising job-seekers to perch in their country instead of flocking to the west in search of better job opportunities. According to a recent study conducted by a management consultancy, India has emerged as the desirable destination for relocation of over 500,000jobs in the next 5 years by US financial firms.

Germination of this trend:

A large number of senior foreign executives, not only from US, UK and African countries but also from Europe and S.E. Asia began to put their resumes in the headhunter basket for job opportunities beyond IT and BPO, in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality and logistics. Formerly the majority of enquiries were for middle and senior level management positions, but now there are people interested in lower rank jobs too. What is most bewildering, is the fact that despite the shrunken pay packets these people are zealous of being employed in India. The low cost of living, perhaps could be given credence for it.

Inviting bait:

Elaborating the reason behind this reverse migration, Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO of Head Hunters(India), states that ”In countries like the USA, the rate of salary increase is hardly 1 percent compared to India, where it is about 13 percent, offering professionals more growth than in the West.” Moreover,” these days the salaries that are being paid here are globally competitive, hence professionals working in the UK or USA, do not mind coming to India”. Anil Mahajan, executive director of Talent Hunt Private Ltd. has also said that, “…not many countries offer benefits like political stability, comfort level and competence at the same time. Besides, countries like Singapore and Hongkong - which were earlier attracting a lot of foreign workers – are now reaching saturation point. This stagnancy factor has reduced the number of opportunities available there.”

Thus, many foreigners are lured by the attraction of living in a country that is discernibly, dynamic. Moreover, they feel that the Indian experience would be a value-addition to their CVs. As a result even students from business schools across the globe are evincing an interest in taking internships with multinationals and domestic companies in India in order to have an exposure to the booming Indian job market.

According to an analyst, there is a need for skilled professionals in areas such as R & D and scientific work where the expertise that the foreigners carry is non-pareil. Hence, companies in India are seriously contemplating on replenishing this vacuum with foreign experts.

Money is honey:

Pay packages is dependent on what position a foreigner joins the Indian company. “ There are 2 types of people. One, who are skilled and whose expertise is not available in India. For instance, drug and molecule research, VOIP rollouts, etc. Here the Indian company is willing to pay these people ‘expat packages’. Basically, this means they get paid in US $ at similar or higher salaries than what they would have got in their home country.”, says Lakshmikanth. The second type are those people who voluntarily opt for India. “Such people generally are the types who find that the jobs are vanishing in their home country and are being sent across to countries like India…In all such cases, unless the skill/expertise they bring in is rare, they are paid salaries in Indian rupees equivalent to their Indian counterparts,” he says.

Denouement of this trend:

Though most Indians perceive this as a veritable threat to the present job scenario resulting in manifold rise of competition, Lakshmikath feels otherwise and is of the opinion that there can be “ …no negative effect of this new phenomenon as most employers prefer overseas workers only for those positions for which expertise is not easily available in India.” For instance, GTL, the $134 million third party BPO service provider, had welcomed its first batch of British graduates to India at its call center in Pune as customer consultants. Pradeep Phadke, senior vice-president and center head, GTL, Pune said that their main objective was to find out the performance of a British employee vis-à-vis his Indian counterpart while serving the same client as well as to foster a healthy relation between the people hailing from two different countries for a better understanding of the cultures, mindsets and accents which contributes towards better performance.

Fact-myth amity:

India is thereby undergoing a major revamp to establish itself as a global job hub, attracting a huge number of expatriate Indians and foreign nationals to abode in the exotic locale of India. In fact, nowadays many young Indian IT professionals prefer a brief halt in abroad (for picking up some trans-continental experience) to permanent migration. Last but not the least, the presumption that too many foreigners have been rendered jobless is only a myth, as we witness a deluge of adventurous foreign professionals enthusiastic to nest in this exotic locale and explore the exciting job options.

By Ashmita Bose

P.S. Please feel free to express your views.

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