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.