At a time when there is a burning debate going on that people should stay in their home country and work for the betterment of their nation, a World Bank Report outlines why people opt to move abroad rather than stay in their nation, especially the Indians. While moving abroad for better education, a better job, better opportunities, and better pay is a common phenomenon that almost every country in the world witness, the World Bank reports suggest that Indians' pay hike by 120 to a whopping 500 percent when they work abroad. Yes! you heard it right. Brain Drain means the movement of highly skilled and educated people to a country where they can work in better conditions and earn more money and Indians' earning hiked by 500 percent will only amp it up more. Recently, the World Bank published World Development Report in which it highlighted that Indian workers see a 120% rise in their incomes outside India, while internal migration within India will only add about 40% to personal incomes.
Why there is a huge difference in pay between India and other countries?
As reported by the World Bank, the hike in pay is witnessed in almost every working-class of Indian immigrant. Meaning a low-skilled Indian worker can expect a 500 percent rise in income in the United States. Notably, after the US, countries like the United Arab Emirates is the next favourite destination for low-skilled workers of India where they can earn 300 percent more than in India. Now, the arises why so much disparity in pay? Well the World Bank report answers this question as well. As per the financial body's report, India is an underdeveloped and developing nation, that cannot pay such high stipends to the working class and therefore, people of there often opt to relocate to a place where they can expect a better life with better opportunities like in the developed nations. "The gains are so large that at current rates of economic growth it would take decades for the average low-skilled person working in some countries of origin to earn the income they achieve by migrating to a high-income country," notes the report.
Talking about Indians earning in Abroad, the first thing which pops up in everyone's mind is the tech sector. In today's world, the Silicon Valley of the United States are being dominated by Indian CEOs. Be it Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Abode etc, Indians are ruling America's silicon valley. Notably, migration of talented Indians are often called brain drain by the media. And that is among the major reasons why stories of extraordinary scientists like Vikram Sarabhai inspires Indians as he refused a high-paying job in NASA and worked in ISRO. Keeping the inspiration factors aside, the World Bank report argues that "brain drain" may have played a role in India's Information Technology revolution. Techies like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadela and more have helped develop industries in India by transferring knowledge and fostering innovation. The World Bank report says, "Indian migrants in California’s Silicon Valley have launched large Information Technology–related firms in India. In 2006, firms established by returnees accounted for some 90 percent of firms in software technology parks in Bangalore."
Notably, brain drain has helped India in terms of remittance as well. As per the report, India is the biggest beneficiary of remittances in the world, having crossed the $100 billion mark in 2022. The report says, ""Remittances are a stable source of income for migrants’ families, supporting investments in children’s education, health care, housing, and entrepreneurial activities."
It is pertinent to mention here that India's earnings in remittances are widely dominated by Indians living in Gulf countries. As per the report, low-skilled Indian migrants in Gulf countries send, on average, nearly 70 percent of their earnings to their families. As per India's MEA, nearly 50 percent of India's migrant population works in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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