A thought occurred to me, is it always right to believe in the concept of brain drain which we have been hearing since decades ? Ofcourse, a country such as India which got its independence about 7 decades ago won’t suddenly become advanced. There is no magic wand! So things are going to take time and will require efforts from its citizens placed globally in shaping things inhouse.
But as they say, if people are clever and opportunistic then they are bound to grab better opportunities in perhaps another part of the world. And so since decades, Indians have been listening the concept of brain drain due to many of its citizens emigrating thereby not being physically present in their own country.
However, see how I have put it, “not physically present in your home country”. So you may be abroad but can still contribute to its growth. And there are several Indians who prefer staying abroad because of how their upbringing and experiences have been in India or for whatever reasons. If I may present an example, the idea of Indian School of Business was initiated by US-based Indian-Americans who felt the need to have a global MBA school in India. Infact, many academic and industrial initiatives have benefitted from the presence of NRIs who have had global exposure because not all ideas flourish in one box.
Taking my example, during my PhD in New York, I used to visit India every year. This was due to my family and would-be betterhalf being there. Once while flying from New York to India, an American passenger sitting next to me asked, “whether I wanted to keep traveling between the US and India” throughout my career. This idea appealed to me at that time, although I have been in Hyderabad for a long time now. If anyone can grab or negotiate a position that allows them to travel inter-continent, I think that would be my best view of how the world should be.
Also, due to many multinational companies being set up in India, more expats have visited India in the last few decades than ever before. Similarly, while the reverse brain drain has increased, which is a good sign, but inspite of limiting yourself by the system around you, I think it makes perfect sense to stay abroad and work globally keeping an Indian agenda in mind. Another aspect being, every Indian who travels abroad takes along home culture and ethos, allowing integration of boundaries.
This is my personal view and perhaps many are already following a global lifestyle with either living abroad or in India. Alternatively, one can contribute globally and travel inter-continent by staying in India too and that would be equally wonderful!