Dr Bushan Kumar
bushankumar@ip.du.ac.in
There is a simple truth we all accept in our personal lives: if our home is small, imperfect or filled with problems, we do not abandon it and go to live permanently in someone else’s house. We try to fix it, improve it, strengthen it, and make it livable. Yet the same instinct disappears when it comes to our country. The moment our income rises and we become comfortable, we start looking for ways to leave the nation that raised us, educated us, and gave us the foundation on which our success stands. What is more surprising is that people often leave not when they are desperate or struggling, but when they finally reach a point where they could meaningfully give back. Over the last decade, India has been one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. Despite global slowdowns, India’s GDP growth has been around 7% on average. The country is expanding highways at a record pace, building airports, adopting 5G faster than many Western nations, and creating one of the world’s strongest digital ecosystems. Yet, even in this moment of growth, India is witnessing a silent but significant trend: those who have benefitted the most from the country’s progress are increasingly choosing to settle abroad. According to the United Nations International Migration Report 2024, India has the world’s largest diaspora – nearly 1.8 crore Indians are living outside the country. Every year, around 2 to 3 lakh highly skilled professionals permanently migrate to the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, and the Gulf. The World Bank estimates that India loses nearly $17-20 billion every year in human capital due to the permanent migration of skilled, educated workers.
This includes doctors, engineers, scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs – people who could contribute significantly to India’s growth but end up strengthening foreign economies instead. The irony becomes even deeper when we examine who exactly is leaving. A large percentage of those who migrate studied in India’s subsidized higher education system. Institutes like IITs, NITs, IIMs, and AIIMS spend lakhs of rupees per student, while students pay only a fraction of the real cost. The nation invests in their talent, but just when they become capable of giving something back, they pack their bags. It is like a family raising a child with love, discipline, and sacrifice, only to watch him use his abilities for someone else’s home. And the reasons people give for leaving are often the same: better lifestyle, cleaner surroundings, safety, infrastructure, higher salaries. It is true that the salary gap is large – a software engineer in Silicon Valley may earn ?1.2 crore a year, while the same job in India may pay ?12-20 lakh. It is true that cities like Toronto, Sydney, and Amsterdam rank much higher on global quality-of-life indexes. But the question is not whether these countries are better today. The deeper question is: how will India ever reach those levels if everyone who can improve India decides to leave?
A study by Yale and Stanford researchers in 2023 pointed out an interesting psychological trend: migration from India is increasingly driven not by necessity, but by aspiration. As incomes rise, expectations rise even faster. Families want global exposure, branded lifestyles, and the social status that comes with saying “my son is in America.” It is not poverty pushing people out; it is a mindset telling them that staying back is a sign of lower ambition. For many, leaving becomes an escape, not just a choice. But escape comes at a cost. Every time a skilled professional leaves, India loses more than just a worker. We lose innovation capacity. We lose future entrepreneurs. We lose future taxpayers. When a doctor trained in India serves in London or New York, it is the British or American taxpayer who benefits from our investment. When Indian scientists file patents abroad, it strengthens foreign industries. When Indian startup founders migrate to Silicon Valley, the next big company, the next breakthrough, the next job-creating machine is lost not to the world, but specifically to India. Yet, the solution is not to stop people from going abroad. Migration itself is not the problem; migration without contribution is. Countries like China, Israel, South Korea, and Ireland have large diasporas too, but their overseas citizens remain deeply connected to their homeland. They invest, they mentor, they bring technology back, they spend time in their home country, and they help shape national policies. Their success abroad becomes an asset for their nation, not a loss. India’s diaspora is talented, but the level of contribution is still far from its potential. Many Indians return only for weddings, festivals, or family visits. Few returns to work for even a year, start a business, mentor young people, fund research, or take part in policy dialogues. We expect India to grow, but we want it to grow without our time, without our effort, and without our involvement. The truth is, no nation becomes great because its people leave.
Nations become great because their people stay, build, contribute, and believe. Japan rebuilt itself after war because its young generation refused to leave. South Korea transformed from a poor agricultural country in the 1960s to a global tech powerhouse because its educated youth chose to stay and create. China’s rise in manufacturing and technology was powered by the return of thousands of overseas Chinese professionals. Countries do not become strong because foreigners help; they become strong because their own people take responsibility. India today stands at a unique moment. The country is growing, changing, transforming – but the pace depends on us. If our best minds keep leaving, India will keep moving two steps forward and one step back. But if our best minds stay or at least stay connected with purpose, India’s growth can accelerate in a way the world has rarely seen. Contribution does not always mean spending money or making huge sacrifices. It can begin with something as simple as sharing knowledge with Indian students, mentoring startups, investing even a small amount in Indian enterprises, supporting research, participating in policy discussions, promoting local innovations, or returning for short-term work. Every bit matters. A nation is built not by one giant act of patriotism, but by millions of small acts of responsibility.
In the end, it comes down to one question: do we want to be beneficiaries of strong India, or do we want to be the architects of it?.
(The author is Assistant Professor of Economics, IPCW, University of Delhi)
The post India pays the price for migration appeared first on Daily Excelsior.