My Valley is Greener

I got a call from an acquaintance who was back in India recently for a family
wedding. More than twelve years of experience in the software industry. Seven
years in a company that was a startup, when he joined. Of this, the last three
have been abroad. He is doing very well, on paper. But he wants action, and is
now looking for a way to come back to India. As you look around, you see many
who are in the same boat.

Through 25 years of Dataquests existence, this is a phenomenon that I did
not dream about.

While we worry about how we are going to handle the severe shortage of IT
professionals, here is a ray of hope. And even as we build professionals, we can
look forward to some hard-core global expertise coming in.

Though there are no real studies on how many Indians are coming back from
foreign shores, some estimates indicate about 60,000 have in the last four years
or so from Silicon Valley alone. That is quite heartening.

So why the one-way ticket to India? Indias growth story, expanding business
opportunities, IT outsourcing dream runthere are many facets to it. India, as a
market, is hot. India, as a service provider, is hot. Most companies cannot
overlook India if they are looking at some ambitious growth figures. So they
send promising professionals who are Indians, to oversee their operations here.
They strike a good balance of the global outlook and work ethic with the
Indianness needed to understand the business intricacies here.

At an individual level, many think that the work they do in the US is not
exciting enough. India promises a lot more action. Many others worry about their
work visibility as a project draws to an end. Visa renewals are getting
stressful every year. Add to those discriminations and the danger of lay offs,
and its understandable why home sounds much better, right now.

Then there is the aspect of savings that one gets to make in India. For the
same salary in the US and India, one gets to do a lot more, save a lot more.

Various people cite other reasons for the move. Schooling of their kids is
one huge reason. They would rather that their kids studied in Indian schools,
and move if they want, to the US for further studiesthus picking the best from
each countrys education system. Moving closer to elderly parents is another
thing many want to do. Then there is the huge comfort factor that comes from
having your family support network. Having a support system takes half the
stress out for most parents with little children.

So, while infrastructure is still not something to write to the US about,
its far better than what it was when they had left the country. There are
issues everyday, especially trying to pick up the threads of their Indian lives,
but by the trend we see, it seems to be all worth the move back. And a great way
for India to handle its manpower shortfall.

Indias happening atmosphere is not just drawing Indians back, but also
people from various countries. Even if it means slimmer paychecks, or having to
learn to navigate the Indian roads! The exposure is worth it all, seems to be a
common refrain.

How times have changed. From the lure of greenbacks to the shimmer of the
rupee. From brain drain to brain gain.

It has been a unique privilege for me to be associated with this industry and
this magazinewhich celebrates 25 years of its existence. And I have been there
for almost all of this time. I am sure that our readers too have gained from our
efforts. We aim to keep up the same.