The Future of Indian Immigration
Owing to the fall of the ‘closed economy’ system of India in 1991, the number of foreign nationals visiting India for business and pleasure has grown exponentially. Before that, the travel to India for business was insignificant. In fact, India experienced a phenomenon called as ‘Brain Drain’- the best and the brightest of India including state educated engineers and doctors left the country to explore more beneficial conditions. That all changed in 1991, when the government of India realised the need to adopt a policy of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation (LPG). The liberalisation significantly reduced regulatory hurdles and minimised licence requirements. Privatisation of government entities reduced the role of the state and the public sector in business. Additionally, globalisation of trade made it easier for trans-national or multi-national companies (MNC) to operate in Indian attracting entrepreneurs from all over the world. Hence in recent times, the flow of expatriates to India from the rest of the world is increasing exponentially every year, resulting in what is often termed as – Reverse Brain Drain.
Recent Developments The explosion of globalisation, the internet and technology all contributed to the increased travel to India. Information technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITES) witnessed a hike in business infrastructure, attracting venture capitalists and businessmen to India. India is also considered as one of the prime countries in which the outsourcing industry that provides ITES is booming. IT and ITES growth has triggered a domino effect resulting in the growth of several ancillary industries and those that provide support services to these industries either directly or indirectly.
Present Trend of Immigration in India Although India has all the appearances of a booming economy, there are a few drawbacks that do not support optimum economic growth. Enhancement of the education system, trading and infrastructure are seen as the most essential catalysts to India’s economic growth. In the meantime, a large portion of India’s population remains uneducated and unskilled. For that reason, it is important to note that immigration in fields employing unskilled and industrial labour will not be readily permitted, as these industries form an important source of employment for the undereducated. Meanwhile, the demand for visas from highly skilled, qualified professionals and entrepreneurs is on the rise.
Future of immigration in India Despite some challenges, India is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Known for its hospitality and almost open-door policies, India, even with a population of more than a billion welcomes migrants who not only wish to invest their money in the ever-expanding markets of India, and even seek jobs requiring highly skilled and qualified professionals. This trend will continue till business opportunities abound and till India becomes self-sufficient with qualified personnel. India will continue to reap the economic gifts of globalisation while the growing number of youth will have to be educated and career plans to face the competition from abroad. New immigrants in the country, comprising for the most part those on temporary strays or people with long term business plans tend to congregate in well urbanised areas. These trends fuelled further by multiple factors including a growing affluent population, inward investment in the interests of the country, propelling economic growth further, will attract more migration. Change can also be seen in the profile of the expatriate seeking to work or do business in India. The first wave, in the 1990’s included personnel in connection with establishing businesses for large multi-national corporations and POI’s. Subsequent trends indicated that large numbers of PIO’s (person of Indian origin), after being granted citizenships in other countries, decided to work as high-level professionals, or conduct business in India.
Recent trends indicate that the profile of those coming to India especially in the past decade includes professionals, some seeking to gain experience here, some coming to re-connect with their Indian roots, and others being deployed to set up business ventures on behalf of small and medium size enterprises. In this
edition, ‘The Best of 5 Immigration Consultants’ of the Insights Success Magazine, we attempt at cracking the formula of what makes a great immigration consultation firm, by dissecting the moves and decisions of some of the top players of their game.
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