Coming Home Now

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

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People used to migrate to foreign lands and they still will. But if you observe a little more closely, it's no more a trend.

'Dollar dreams' are fading away.

There are different classes among those who migrate to other countries to find work. There are those who would do any type of job to get good money and send it back home. Then there are those who have worked their fate out and taken their families along. The most notoriously known amongst these are the IT professionals, who despite being qualified and capable of earning a better standard of living in the country, go.

But that's passe. Today, you can easily spot brain-drain reversal. Earlier the software professionals went abroad to find better job prospects and, of course money. Salary differential between what they would get abroad and back home was so large that it almost forced them out of this country. To add to this, they had high aspirations too.

Rinku Tyagi Issue Editor for this month

Let us talk specifically of the IT industry now. Around the time when there was dot com boom, most professionals migrated, and there was lots of talk about brain drain. Then they came back when the dot com bubble busted, America's economy nose-dived and there were
retrenchments all over.

Now the revival of Indian economy is bringing them back. Even those who got hold of coveted foreign citizenships in countries like US and UK are willing to return. In fact, they have set up their own companies and become entrepreneurs with the skills that they gathered abroad.

That's there are enough indications that job prospects for IT professionals in India are plenty. All you need is the talent and competency. All this is what I was sure would happen. This belief gained more ground while compiling this issue.

We reached out to about 470 IT decision makers to ask what their strategic concerns, the most challenging task while inducting any technology into mainstream business, and their plans in the near future. Interestingly, they said that finding and retaining talent as the most daunting task.

And this being the case, they hire to manage their business continuity needs. Most IT heads told us they were looking towards retaining competent staff to undertake big implementations for Indian businesses. And there is no stopping for those who are skilled and competent enough to prove their worth in any industry.

So there are opportunities, and all you need to do is GRAB them. And these opportunities for IT professionals exist in any industry you can think of-media, communications, market research, paramilitary forces, educational institutes, PSUs, and so forth. Healthcare and outsourcing are two big industries that are capable of absorbing a majority of them. The case for outsourcing is seems to be stronger with India becoming the most preferred outsourcing destination for the world. And what you get at all these places is a fat pay packet in the comforts of your own homeland.
Further, IT industry has enough juice for those who have just funds and a vision. Technology is emerging as a new area to invest in. For instance, there is a lot of potential lying in our agricultural farmlands. Since, agriculture has long been deprived of technology, this area can be revolutionized if agriculture and technology go hand in hand. Consider providing high-tech solutions to agriculture. Capital investment is needed in R&D dedicated to agriculture. Consider making use of intelligent machines and hardware that would tell you which part of land across the country would need which type of minerals/fertilizers and how much irrigation to get maximum returns on the produce.

While India is already a favorite among multinational IT companies, now venture capitalists are heading towards investing in Indian IT companies. Goldman Sachs, New Enterprise Associates, Mayfield Fund, Bessemer Ventures, Battery Ventures and Sequoia Capital are a few names that either plan to or have already made huge investments in India. This is sure to provide a fillip to Indian IT entrepreneurship.

All these advancements and changing government policies are only giving impetus to making India Inc a reality. And not just those who migrated for money matters everyone's coming home now.

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