Page 52 - EW November 2023

Cover Story

ment enterprises and were set ued, if not accelerated.
to overwhelm Asian markets. Dr. Dipankar Gupta,
But at that juncture, notwith- former professor of sociology
standing its several millennia at Jawaharlal Nehru Univer-
tradition of private enterprise, sity, Delhi and an insightful
the newly independent nation op-ed page contributor to
was shunted onto the broad the Times of India, views
highway of arid socialism. this continuous wealth and
talent drain with surprising
A S A RESULT, In- equanimity. According to
him the number of success-
dia’s pioneer in-
ful emigrants constitute a
dustrialists, many
of whom had fund-
ed the freedom “small number” of Indians
who migrate abroad. More-
movement, were transformed over, he compares the brain
overnight into evil, exploitative Dipankar Gupta: internal migration analogy drain outflow of “better off
capitalists, and government tax and more ambitious” indi-
revenues and public savings were ca- have risen to high positions in their viduals with internal migrants who
nalised into large, capital-intensive adopted countries, and especially in move from rural to urban India to
public sector enterprises (PSEs) run the US, UK and Commonwealth, has better their livelihood and prospects.
by business-illiterate bureaucrats multiplied manifold (see box p.58). “The factors behind internal and ex-
and over-promoted clerks who were This phenomenon raises the question ternal migration are structurally very
never able to deliver anywhere near as to why PIOs are able to succeed out- similar. If India was prosperous and
adequate return on investment. Coter- side of their own country, but not in if there were more opportunities to be
minously, free India’s private sector that of their birth and nurturance. Ad- innovative because of greater spend-
corporates and business leaders were mittedly, the Great Indian Brain Drain ing and attention to R&D, there would
tied up in a licence-permit-quota regi- has been discussed in academia and be more foreigners hoping to emigrate
men designed to prevent their growth the media, but only cursorily, without here and fewer Indians would feel the
and advancement, resulting in loss of adequate depth. Because even after urge to leave their homes,” says Gupta.
excise, income and sales tax revenue liberalisation and deregulation of the While Dr. Gupta’s analogy is accu-
to government — which could have economy in 1991 and subsequently, rate, it begs the question why seven
funded public education, healthcare the migration of HNWI and qualified decades after it became self-governing
and nutrition — on a massive scale. professionals seems to have contin- and independent, India is not pros-
Consequently, free India’s econo-
my was trapped between a rock and
hard place — negligible return on Indians acquiring foreign citizenship
investment in capital-intensive PSEs
and stalled private sector growth. As ccording to a recent report In- Top OECD countries awarding Indians
early as the 1960s, lack of opportuni- Aternational Migration Outlook: citizenship
ties, employment and social upward 2023 published by the OECD, Indi- Country 2019 2021
mobility became difficult for citizens ans constitute the largest national USA 63,500 56,000
in all sectors of society, prompting group acquiring citizenship in af- Australia 28,500 24,000
steady migration of people from In- fluent OECD countries. Canada, in Canada 31,300 21,000
dia to destinations overseas. Middle particular, is a favourite destination,
class migrants with education and recording the most significant pro-
marketable skills went to the US, UK portional increase, with a 174 per- India #1 country of origin for new
migrants
and Commonwealth countries, while cent jump between 2021 and 2022.
less qualified and unskilled labour 400,000 — India, for the second con-
mass migrated to Arab-Gulf countries Top nationalities taking OECD secutive year, ranked as the top country of
citizenship
where they were obliged to endure origin for new migrants (excluding students)
arduous and often humiliating work Country 2019 2021 to OECD-member countries.
conditions. India 1,55,799 1,32,795 230,000 — China
Since then the number of people of Mexico 1,28,826 1,18,058
Indian origin (PIOs), who were driven Syria 40,916 1,03,736 Source: OECD International Migration
Outlook: 2023
to migrate to foreign countries and

52 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2023