Name:Spandan Banerjee

Mobile:9474490581
Email ID:spandanb97@gmail.com
Institution Name:Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira,Belur Math,Howrah-711202
Year of Study:2nd

Brain Drain:A Challenge for India

So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every person a traitor who, having been
educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them!-Swami Vivekananda

1.Introductory Words
Our nation is a vibrant nation imbibing various and diversified cultures,regions and traditions. With
a population of 1.2 billion,out of which more than half is under 25 years of age,we are supposed to
have a strong labour force and the young population gives us a strategic advantage over other major
economies of the world including Japan,China,USA,whose population is slowly ageing.Or it is
supposed to give us an advantage.But are we capable of driving this point home?India still has a
sizable population who are deprived of nbasic amenities of life,such as food ,shelter and
clothing.No matter how much we get infatuated with the story of India emerging as a superpower
based on its tremendous GDP growth rate,the reality is that no nation can hoped to be called
developed if it fares as poor as our country on the HDI front.Education,Health,basic sanitation are
still major problems in large swathes of the country.Now,we have no dearth of talented people who
can help their motherland come out of this abyss.However,as every man looks for a decent career
first,so that he can lead a comfortable life and attain a decent standard of living,we have many
people moving out of our country as there is lack of suitable opportunities for exercising their
talents and earing high incomes inside India.This problem,a serious one,is dubbed commonly as
Brain Drain.

2.What is Brain Drain,how is it caused and why is it such a

serious Issue?
Brain Drain is basically defined as the movement of highly skilled and qualified people to a
country where they can work in better conditions and earn more money.There is actually a flight of
human capital involved, quite similar to what is called the mass flight of financial capital from one
country to another.It involves a substantial economic cost, as the migrating population takes away
with them their skills, productivity, technical know-how,and also the benefits of the higher
education provided to them by the Government and other organisations.
This is becoming a serious issue for most of the developing countries,especially
India,which understandably loses most number of high skilled workers every year to more
developed countries like USA,UK and others,according to statistical estimates..This becomes a
Brain-Gain for the advanced countries which keep getting richer at the expense of the poorer
countries.They avail of the services of the trained intellectuals from developing countries at a very
cheap rate,having spent nothing on their training.Thus,the knowledge gap between countries is
increasing.
Now,what actually are the causes behind this phenomenon which is so dearly
costing our own economic and social growth?It is very easy to say that the NRIs had migrated
because they were greedy and did not care for their motherland.However,if we study things more
carefully,we will see that the real reason for Brain Drain lies in the socio-politic and socio-economic
system of India.
The discussion on the reasons behind Brain Drain, particularly in India can be made
from two perspectives,firstly,from the context of countries,and secondly,from the context of
individuals.

If we discuss from the perspective of countries,we will see that the main issue is the social
environment (lack of opportunities, political instability, economic depression, health risks, etc, in
host countries).In terms of individual reasons, there are family influence, and personal preference:
preference for exploring, ambition for an improved career, etc.A detailed analysis of the causes
follows hereby.

HIGHER EDUCATION:The Higher Education secenario In India has improved considerably

since independence.Earlier this privilege accrued only to the upper echleons of the
society.However,now the increase in the number of universities and colleges has extended this
privilege to the medium and lower sections also.However,there are doubts over the quality of
education provided in many instituitions,and if that is all right,there is the problem of lack of
infrastructure,resources and employability of passouts.The irrational demands made by many
colleges nowadays demanding students with almost 100% marks for admissions in their
institutions has led many students to explore the possibility of studying abroad where they have a
better chance of getting selected due to their intellectual superiority.
BETTER EMPLOYMENT:India has a vast pool of manpower which is in excess of the
consummate employment opportunities required to accommodate such a huge population.The
political and,social environment is not at all conducive for the business houses in India.Many
entrepreneurs were in the 1970-80s forced to leave the country due to the stifling and whimsical
economic policies followed by successive governments,especially under Indira Gandhi.The
Monpolies and Restrictive Trade PracticesAct was a point in case.Enterpreneurs like J.R.D Tata
had o pay at one time 98% of their incomes as tax.How could one do business in such an
envirionment?
Many entrepreneurs thus moved abroad and as development of industries was
slow,employment opportuinites were limited in the private sector which forced many Indians to
move abroad in search of better jobs.
Many scientists and research scholars in different fields of study often complain that there
are not and adequate opportunities or infrastructure which forces them to move abroad,and rightly
do they do so.
Low salaries and inefficient working conditions are the first cause which triggers the movement to
countries with better facilities.
LACK OF OPPORTUNITIES:It has been already discussed in the previous paragraph that how
Indians prefer to shift to developed countries like the USA and the UK,just because we do not
provide them enough opportunities to exercise and justify their talents.In developed
countries,researchers are provided with funds and with equipments so that they can pursue their
dreams.This is why we have lost such people like Hargobind Khuranna,Venkataraman
Ramakrishnan to the United States.Our quality of research is surely improving,thanks to the
establishment of such institutes of repute like the IITs and the IIMs,but it is still not adequate to rein
in the highly ambitious.Although,brain drain due to lack of research facilities has declined
compared to what it was in the 50s and the 60s.
EASY MIGRATION:The favourable migration policies of many countries has enticed many
willing Indians to leave their nation and move abroad.India has a very high number of skilled
workers who offer to provide labour at very cheap rates compared to labourers from developed
countries.As top appointments in India are few,many Indians willingly move to developed nations
which relax their migration policies exactly for that purpose.

In addition to the above mentioned reasons, bureaucratic entanglements, interference of political

parties,the social backwardness of rural India, compels well educated and highly gifted intellectuals
to move abroad to build an ambitious career.

The effects and long term consequences of Brain Drain(SocioEconomic Aspects)

The socio economic effects of Brain Drain in India are many, such as:
1.India emerging as a cheap source of skilled Labour for developed countries
India,with its vast pool of skilled workers, plays in the modern knowledge based economic world a
very crucial role by sending by any estimate the highest number of skilled workers who are willing
to work at relatively cheaper rates but produce better results than workers hired from developed
countries.India and China together account for 47% of the total foreign students enrolled in US
universities.US undoubtedly remains the most preferred destination for Indian students going
abroad,but the other European nations are trying to catch up with favourable migration policies and
other incentives.It is reducing the cost of the developed nations as they dont have to spend
anything on training them,but have their work done at comparatively lower salaries according to
their living standards.The Indians are happy because rhey didnt dream of earning so much when
they were living in india.
2.A Political Issue
It Becomes a political issue when the best of professional manpower leave their own country and
settle in a more developed one, however it rarely occurs that it is exclusively political. It involves
peculiar contradiction; it simultaneously indicates the lack of production and over production of
professional manpower on the drained country. In this sense, brain drain is a symptomatic
phenomenon, but at the same time it is expressive of a fundamental difficulty. The net effect of this
is that the development of science and technology has been accelerated in the developed countries
and has been slowed down in the drained countries.
3.An Economic Issue
This is the most serious consequence of Brain Drain in India.The economic angle arises from the
fact that there is still a huge gap in per capita income growth,social progress and technological
progress among the developed and the developing nations.The young and talented Indians,having
been trained and educated from premier institutes like the IITS and the IIMs and IIScs,forsake their
motherland,lured by greener pastures in the developed countries.It is thus a waste of the taxpayers
money as the benefits of these skilled workers efforts are lapped up by the more advanced nations
of the world.Millions of Indians,paying the tax by working till their blood oozes out,are thus
deprived of the know-how and the services of the Indians who move abroad.There is a question
raised also over the future prospects of Indian infrastructure development and the future of ongoing

research.In whose hands will the country be left?Who will be responsible for its development?
Those inefficient and corrupt politicians?Or those profit-laundering businessmen?if that is the
case,then God help our beloved country!

Conclusion
All the above discussions seemingly paint a very grim state of affairs in our country caused by the
phenomenon called Brain Drain.However,the situation is not all that bad.The numbers are
gradually improving.The scales are slowly tilting in favour of the developed nations,especially
India.A reverse trend has started in recent years,named the Brain Gain or Brain Drain in reverse.
A fraction of the scientists and engineers are returning.Assuming 15% of them are the ones that
have come back, it is just 30,000. May be 20,000 have come back to new IISERs, IITs, central
universities, industrial R&D centres, etc. Put together, it means less than 50,000 have come back.
This is just 5% of 9,50,000 immigrants in the US.However,it indicates that though the trend has just
started and the results are considerably insignificant to neutralise and wipe off the effect of the mass
human flight which had taken place at a considerable pace over the last few decades, it also
signifies that the Indian Government is finally taking fruitful steps to stem the outward flow of
skills and talent. This should have been taken long ago.
India is now the third largest economy in the world in terms of total
GDP(PPP).It is developing fast and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Research
quality has improved at premier institutions. All these has led to at least some reversal of the Brain
Drain.
However, there is still much which the Government and the Indian diaspora abroad needs to do.
Government should support for all category of people not to leave from India, by supporting
financially, technically, and professionally. Where there is an effective utilization of human
knowledge is possible then there we can see the growth rate of economy in terms of all aspects and
on GDP rate. Moreover, Government must amend policies in higher education, so that our talent can
be discouraged to settle in other countries.
The balance of power and for the staggered development of the world, it is very important to stop
the phenomena of Brain-drain. This will help a particular country to use all local skilled citizens for
development and to attain higher GDP. But to hold these skilled workers at their native places, it is
also important to provide them enough work opportunities and living facilities.
The Indians abroad should also show their patriotic zeal and return to serve their motherland to
which they owe everything.The remittances from abroad must increase and the NRIs should

contribute a greater share to the national income.If they turn a deaf ear to the plight of their
countrymen,they would be traitors to their motherland,as Swami Vivekananda had so aptly put it.