🔗 Share this article

Latest policy changes in the US, such as a sharp rise of H-1B visa fees, have spurred the Indian government officials to actively encourage qualified expatriates to relocate and support domestic development.

An influential bureaucrat associated with the government recently stated that the leadership is dedicated to repatriating NRIs. At the same time, another expert noted that US work permits have consistently benefited the United States, and the new fee increase could possibly benefit India in drawing global talent.

The main point is that the moment is right for India to orchestrate a reverse brain drain and attract highly skilled workers in IT, research, and diverse cutting-edge fields who left the homeland over the past 30 years.

Some evidence suggest that a tighter policy landscape in the America is prompting a few professionals to evaluate coming back. But, experts caution that persuading large numbers to depart US locations for Indian centers will be easier said than done.

A former expatriate is part of the small group of expatriates who, after two decades in the US, decided to return and moved to India's Silicon Valley last year.

The move involved risk. He quit a lucrative position at a leading firm to plunge into the risky sector of entrepreneurship.

"I frequently aimed to launch something of my own, but my visa situation in the America restricted that freedom," he mentioned.

After moving home, he's started a couple of businesses, one being a service called Return to India that assists other expatriates based in the United States "handle the personal, economic, and professional hurdles of returning home."

He added that current changes in United States immigration policy have resulted in a significant spike in requests from professionals interested in return, and the work permit issue could speed up this trend.

"A lot of experts now realize that a US citizenship may remain elusive, and inquiries to B2I have increased – almost increasing threefold following policy updates commenced. In just the past half-year, more than two hundred NRIs have reached out to consider return options," he commented.

Further talent scouts who focus on students from US universities support this shift in attitude.

"The figure of learners from top-tier colleges looking to relocate to India after their degrees has risen by 30% lately," an executive mentioned.

She noted that the instability is also leading experienced professionals "evaluate their professional paths in the America."

"Even though a lot are still based there, we notice a significant uptick in senior and top professionals evaluating India as a viable choice," she added.

The growing interest could also be aided by a huge expansion in offshore offices – or offshore operations of multinational companies in India – that have created viable career options for expatriates.

Such GCCs could become options for those from the IT sector when the United States restricts entry, making GCCs "highly desirable to talent, particularly as overseas postings decrease," according to an asset manager.

However facilitating reverse migration significantly will require a concerted and dedicated initiative by the government, and such efforts are absent, says a former consultant to a former PM and author on India's brain drain.

"Officials will have to reach out and effectively identify experts – featuring leading researchers, workers, and entrepreneurs – it seeks to repatriate. That demands resources, and it must come straight from the top," he stated.

He explained that this approach was employed by a former leader in the previous era to bring back top minds in sectors like space and atomic energy and create institutions like the esteemed a top research institute.

"Those individuals were driven by a powerful sense of purpose. What is the incentive to return now?" he asked.

Instead, there are multiple attractive and repelling reasons that have caused educated individuals consistently departing the country, he noted, and India has celebrated this trend, as opposed to stopping it.

Attractions abroad comprise a increasing variety of destinations offering residency programs and long-term stays through immigration programmes.

In fact, even as the US strengthened its work permit rules, countries {such as