Brain Drain or Migration- Boon or Bane
Posted : December 30, 2005 at 9:01 pm [IST]
I don’t know why? But I don’t get excited, when I read or hear news such as ‘brain drain in reverse’ and Nasscom estimates that says, 30,000 professionals have moved back to India. Perhaps I don’t like them serving some companies as employees, as they will be doing the same what they were doing in US too. And there may be many here already who can occupy the chair with same performance efficiency or better. However, I get real pleasure when I find someone from US coming to start an enterprise of his own. In the early part of this year when we were in US, I used to suggest every Indian young man that we met to have an ambition to start some enterprise and get trained accordingly while working for the American companies. However, I understand very well that every one can’t be an entrepreneur neither every one likes to take the risk that a business demands.
Some 80,000 students every year are still going for higher professional studies to US and many more to other countries too including China. And I don’t grumble about it. It happened in past too, when IITs were already there on the scene.
There is nothing wrong if Indian students are migrating to US for higher studies such as masters or PhD, in which US provides the best facilities in the world. Indian institutes but for some, still don’t provide the post-graduate professional education of world class standard. Even if these migrants work abroad, the country is the major beneficiary through the huge remittances that they make. Last year, it was about $24 billion.
Perhaps in the same way I was not excited, when the new CM of Bihar promised the other day to create conditions so that the migration of the people of Bihar stops. His government can only provide employment for menial work such as one based on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. Unfortunately, Bihar could neither develop service sector nor manufacturing over the years.
There is nothing wrong if the people are going out for better opportunities. I feel proud to see the young men from Bihar carrying out small and medium business in NCR. But I feel bad when they engage themselves for menial work for nominal remunerations. Fortunately, I find the number of people from Bihar in menial work is going down.
I wish the new CM ensured that these boys get good education before they leave their village homes or towns. The new government must provide all level of trade education and training of diploma and degree level. Bihar needs its trade schools to provide religiously high skill and knowledge to their schools and certainly not the paper that is called diploma or degree. Even if they are to work as masons, plumbers, welders, carpenters, or plumbers, they must have the skill to get good remunerations. And then they shall be in good demand even outside the state or the country.
A redeployment based on skill at village level is also necessary, and the people there must be accordingly prepared and trained. Beside good masons, carpenters, and barbers, villages must now have skilled persons who can repair diesel motors, tractors, harvesters, motorcycles and scooters; and electricians to maintain music systems, telephones, and cellular. And owners or users are not made to depend on technicians in towns.
The other day I was talking with a boy in my neighborhood. He is studying in a private engineering college in Pune for a course in Bio-informics. As per him, 50% of the students in his college are from Bihar. The story is same in other educational institutes of the country too. Bihari parents are doing every thing within their means to get their wards educated. They can undertake all sorts of hardships for this including selling of the inherited landed properties. What is wrong in that? However, if the new government can attract good entrepreneurs for opening good educational institutes for professional studies, it will also bring about many consequential transformations in many areas of the state. The burden on parents will also be less. Many entrepreneurs in IT, ITeS, BPO, and call centres sector may come to Bihar for the cost advantages of the state, if the government facilitates it by providing necessary infrastructural assistance and policy changes.
The chief minister wishes to bring in manufacturing to Bihar. “Bihar has long been a ‘consumer state’; it’s high time it is turned into a ‘manufacturing state’,” Kumar said to a group of business owners and traders at the symposium jointly organized by the Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Bihar Industries Association. Unfortunately, the areas available for manufacturing for Bihar are limited. However, the government must encourage the entrepreneurs in textiles, food processing, and leather sectors. Beside giving all the concessions that states are providing or a little more, it must get its labour laws reformed as West Bengal has done for specially IT sector.
Let the basics for attracting investment first come in place.
- Indra
Category: Government Policy/Administration |
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