The Great Indian Brain Drain Accelerates

[Riaz Haq]

India is losing its best and brightest to the West, particularly to the United States, at an increasingly rapid pace. A 2023 study of the 1,000 top scorers in the 2010 entrance exams to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) — a network of prestigious institutions of higher learning based in 23 Indian cities — revealed the scale of the problem. Around 36% migrated abroad, and of the top 100 scorers, 62% left the country, according to a report in the science journal Nature.  Nearly two-thirds of those leaving India are highly educated, having received academic or vocational training. This is the highest for any country, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Example of The Great Indian Brain Drain. Source: Boston Political R...

Brain drain is defined as the loss of precious human capital of a nation. It is a “consequence of an education system designed for ‘selecting’ the best and brightest in an economy that is still too controlled and cannot create opportunities for its best and brightest”, according to Indian economist Shruti Rajagopalan. High-profile examples of India's human capital loss include Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (Google), Shantanu Narayen (Adobe), Arvind Krishna (IBM) and Ajay Banga (World Bank). 

Foreign-Born STEM Workers in America. Source: American Immigration ...

Growing number of Indian students are going abroad for higher education each year and 90% of them never return home after completing their studies.  In 2022, the number of Indian students leaving the country for higher education reached a six-year high of 770,000. And a 2021 report estimated that around two million Indian students would be studying abroad by 2024. 

Many developing countries are experiencing brain drain. But India is losing its best brightest at a much faster rate than others. Some call it "The Great Indian Brain Drain". This is the reason why Indians in the United States are the best educated and the highest earning group.  In a recently published book titled "The Other One Percent", authors Sanjoy Chakravorty, Devesh Kapur and Nirvikar Singh explain this phenomenon. 

They write that the vast majority of Indians who migrate to the United States are from privileged backgrounds in terms of caste, class and education. They have gone through “a triple selection” process that gave Indian-Americans a boost over typically poor and uneducated immigrants who come to the United States from other countries. The first two selections took place in India. As explained in the book: “The social system created a small pool of persons to receive higher education, who were urban, educated, and from high/dominant castes.” India’s examination system then selected individuals for specialized training in technical fields that also happened to be in demand in the United States. Kapur estimated that the India-American population is nine times more educated than individuals in the home country. Here's an excerpt of it:

"A major focus of this book is on demonstrating and understanding the multiple selections that shaped the Indian-American population. These selections applied not only to education (that, in terms of attaining college degrees, made the India-born population three times more educated than that in the host country and nine times more educated than the home country’s population) but also to class and caste (favoring, by large margins, the “upper” and dominant classes and castes of India), profession (engineering, IT, and health care), and both the region of origin (Gujarati and Punjabi were overrepresented in the first two phases, and Telugu and Tamil in the third phase) and region of settlement (in specific metropolitan clusters in and around New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Houston and Dallas). In addition to direct selection is what we call the “selection+” advantage: we suggest that group characteristics or norms, such as the fact that Indians had the highest propensity to live in married-couple households of any major immigrant group, added to the advantages of being an already selected group. We show, in particular, how family norms were useful in keeping the Indian-American poverty level low (under 5 percent) and family income high (the highest in the United States). It is also likely that the selection process enabled, without explicitly intending to, the generation of high levels of social capital (through linguistic/ professional networks such as Gujarati entrepreneurs in the hotel industry, Telugu and Tamil workers in the IT industry, IIT engineers, Malayali nurses, Bengali academics, etc.)"

Doctor Brain Drain. Source: Statista

Asian Americans are the best educated among all Americans of various races and ethnicities, including whites. Within Asian Americans, the Indians (three quarters) have the highest educational attainment with at least a bachelor's degree, followed by Koreans and Pakistanis (about 60% each). 

Asian American Educational Achievement by Countries of Origin. Sour...

Asians, including Chinese/Taiwanese, Indians and Pakistanis, tend to be concentrated in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Technology) fields where incomes are generally much higher than in other occupations. 

As of 2019, there were 35,000 Pakistan-born STEM workers in the United States, according to the American Immigration Council. They included information technologists, software developers, engineers and scientists. These figures do not include medical doctors and healthcare workers. 

Foreign-born workers make up a growing share of America's STEM workforce. As of 2019, foreign-born workers made up almost a quarter of all STEM workers in the country. This is a significant increase from 2000, when just 16.4% of the country’s STEM workforce was foreign-born. Between 2000 and 2019, the overall number of STEM workers in the United States increased by 44.5 percent, from 7.5 million to more than 10.8 million, according to American Immigration Council. 

India and Pakistan Among Top 10 Countries Receiving US Immigrant Vi...

India topped the top 10 list of foreign-born STEM workers with 721,000, followed by China (273,000), Mexico (119,000), Vietnam (100,000), Philippines (87,000), South Korea (64,000), Canada (56,000), Taiwan (53,000), Russia (45,000) and Pakistan (35,000).  Enormous number of Indian STEM workers in the United States can at least partly be attributed to the fact that India's "body shops" have mastered the art of gaming the US temporary work visa system. Last year, Indian nationals sponsored by "body shops" like Cognizant, Infosys and TCS received 166,384 H1B visas for work in the United States. By comparison, only 1,107 Pakistanis were granted H1B visas in Fiscal Year 2022.  In addition to H1B work visas, 9,300 Indian nationals and 7,200 Pakistani nationals received immigrant visas to settle in the United States as permanent residents in 2021. 

In addition to 35,000 Pakistan-born STEM workers, there were 12,454 Pakistan-born and Pakistan-trained medical doctors practicing in the United States, making the South Asian nation the second largest source of medical doctors in America.  Pakistan produced 157,102 STEM graduates last year, putting it among the world's top dozen or so countries. About 43,000 of these graduates are in information technology (IT).

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[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan’s Top Talent Is Leaving the Country in Record Numbers

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-31/pakistan-s-brigh...

Economic hardship has pushed skilled workers to move abroad, hollowing out banks, hospitals and multinational companies.

One million skilled workers — doctors, engineers, accountants and managers, among others — left Pakistan over the past three years alone, according to a government tally. That makes Pakistan one of the top 10 countries for emigration.

Asad Ejaz Butt is one of Pakistan’s best and brightest. After completing graduate studies in Canada, the economist returned home with a drive to contribute to his home country and its development.

Yet prestigious jobs working under two finance ministers weren’t enough to pay the bills. Over the past few years, as Pakistan’s inflation outranked any other nation in Asia, Butt couldn’t afford basic necessities, including rent. So he left his highly coveted government job and moved back to North America — to buy time and complete another advanced degree.

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https://youtu.be/YAeOOpk0OEI?si=thP0nkD0AL5l-ZwU

A growing number of skilled workers are leaving Pakistan, seeking opportunities abroad as their country faces one of Asia’s highest inflation rates, rising food and energy prices and a devalued currency.

To address the dire economic situation, the government has implemented unpopular reforms, including raising corporate tax rates and utility prices. These measures are part of Pakistan’s latest $7 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, aimed at averting national bankruptcy.

But the result of all this has been an increasing number of would-be taxpayers emigrating to wealthier nations. So what does that mean for the country’s economic and political prospects?

[Riaz Haq]

’Leave India! It’s high time’: Startup founder’s controversial post on Reddit goes viral | Company Business News

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/entrepreneur-controversial-...


A startup founder's Reddit post on the r/India subreddit titled “Leave India! It’s High Time!” has become the centre of a heated debate. The now-deleted post, written by a user named ‘u/anonymous_batm_an,’ urged high-earning professionals, especially innovators, to leave India for countries with better opportunities and governance, as reported by TOI.

The author introduced himself as someone who graduated from a top Indian engineering institute and completed postgraduate studies in the US. After working at a leading American bank, he returned to India in 2018 to start a company. Despite raising significant funds and employing nearly 30 people with an average salary of ₹15 lakh, the entrepreneur expressed disillusionment with India’s socio-economic landscape.

Key Concerns: Regulations, Taxes, and Civic Issues
As reported by TOI, the founder accused India's regulatory environment of stifling innovation. “You have to be a bureaucrat, politician, or celeb to get things done easily,” he wrote. To illustrate this, he shared a personal anecdote where his company helped police solve a fraud case, even ensuring the victim recovered their money. However, the case against his company was not closed, and police officials demanded bribes. “This is India for you,” he remarked

He also criticised high taxation levels coupled with poor public services like roads and hospitals. “In a nutshell... leave the country where they will even tax your popcorn because they are out of ideas to make it a 5 trillion dollar economy!” the post read.

The entrepreneur further described facing frequent “regional hate” from service providers like auto drivers, cab drivers, and restaurant staff. He added that social status in India is tied to wealth and appearances. “If you don’t look rich or wear branded [clothes], you are a piece of filth in this country,” he claimed.

The post also touched on declining civic sense, recalling an incident in Goa where he confronted a group littering on the street. Their response was dismissive: “Mind your own business or pick up the trash if you want.”

Warnings of Economic Collapse and Suggested Alternatives
In addition to socio-economic challenges, the founder warned of an impending economic collapse and a massive depreciation of the Indian rupee. He urged professionals and innovators to consider relocating to countries like the UAE or Thailand, citing better work environments and opportunities.

Mixed Reactions from Reddit Users
Before being removed, the post garnered over 300 comments, sparking a wide range of opinions. One user living in Australia agreed with the founder, stating, “Indians pay a lot of taxes and get nothing in return. Bad roads, healthcare, bad infrastructure, mass corruption, pollution, [and] backwards policies.”

Another user humorously responded, “The day you pack your business and leave, let me know, my bags are packed, just waiting for you to shut shop and leave with me.”

While some echoed the founder’s frustrations, others argued that the post painted an overly negative picture of India, emphasising that systemic changes require active involvement rather than emigration.

The sentiments expressed in the post resonate with recurring debates about India’s socio-economic conditions, particularly for entrepreneurs and professionals. India, while being the world’s fifth-largest economy, continues to grapple with challenges like bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, and poor infrastructure.

The post has reopened discussions on how policymakers can address these issues to foster a more conducive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. Whether the concerns raised will lead to meaningful dialogue remains to be seen.

[Riaz Haq]

Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
The hidden truth about India's brain drain?

It's not just about loss, but transformation.

Sometimes the biggest exports aren't products.

They're people who change the world.

This is the new “oil” that nations will compete for.

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897365133643808

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
This is India:

- 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs
- 90+ unicorn founders are Indian-born
- 1/3 of all engineers in Silicon Valley are from India

Why have they all left India to succeed?

Here's the hidden truth about the world's most controversial brain drain 🧵:

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874896954771329162

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
First, let's understand the scale of this exodus:

- 1.3M Indians left between 2015-2022
- 225,000 renounced citizenship in 2022 alone
- 1.5M Indian students studying overseas

This isn't just migration…it's a transformation of global leadership.


https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897002905096520

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
The economic impact is staggering:

- IT sector missing $15-20B yearly potential
- Shortage of 2.4M doctors
- $160B lost annually to brain drain

For perspective:

That's more than India's entire defense budget (~$74.3B).

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897020563140714

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
Look at the paradox:

India simultaneously:

- Leads global tech companies
- Produces top innovators
- Creates world-class talent

Yet struggles to keep any of them.

The reason? There are a few key factors…

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897054474117197

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
The reality on the ground:

- 7.33% unemployment rate (2022)
- Significantly lower wages than global standards
- Limited R&D investment
- Restricted innovation opportunities

This creates a powerful push factor.

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897120765132863

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
But here's where it gets interesting…

While India loses talent, it gains something else:

- Massive remittance inflows
- Global knowledge transfer
- International influence

A hidden advantage that will only strengthen as global mobility increases

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897153983926344

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Alessandro Palombo
@0x_ale
The story is clear:

- Microsoft
- Google
- Adobe
- IBM

All run by Indians who left India.

But now something fascinating is happening...

https://x.com/0x_ale/status/1874897170282975581