Pandemic-induced brain drain – Should India be worried?

Synopsis: Recently, the COVID pandemic has exacerbated the brain drain problem in India but instead of obsessing over the issue of brain drain, government should be more concerned about implementing structural reforms. This will ensure that we create an environment where every last individual is able to thrive to his/her fullest potential.

Introduction

• India has wrestled with the problem of brain drain for many years. COVID pandemic has only given a turbo-boost to this phenomenon. It has amplified a pre-existing trend of high net-worth individuals leaving emerging economies for citizenship of advanced economies.
• COVID has accelerated the brain drain problem in India. Many high net-worth (HNI) individuals are leaving India for greener pastures. Well-off parents too are sending their children abroad especially USA.

But, the real problem is a lack of investment in the people which stay in India. This needs to be resolved as a policy-priority.

What is brain drain?

It is defined as emigration of highly-skilled labor as a proportion of the potential educated labor force in sending countries​.

Trend of brain drain from India

• The first big post-Independence wave of educated and/or well off Indians emigrating started in 1960s. India lost many skilled professionals in medicine, science and information technology starting as early as the 1960s to countries including the U.K., U.S. and Canada.
• India saw the reverse migration of skilled IT and other professionals during the economic boom of the late 2000s. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these reversed flows have slowed down as the pace of economic growth has dropped.
  • This phenomenon of back and forth movement of skilled people in a globalized world has been termed brain circulation.

Should India be worried?

No. As per author, India should not be worried about this recent increase in brain drain because of the following reasons:

• No problems from brain drain: Emigration from India that began in 1960s continued all through the post-reforms era. Despite this India has witnessed growth in its economy. Even the economic crisis of 1990s happened due to Indian socialism and not due to brain drain from India.
• Indian diaspora helps: Indian diaspora acts as a soft power multiplier for the country, as well as a network through which both ideas and investment arrive here.

What should India focus upon?

Instead of worrying too much about brain drain, India should lay emphasis on the following:

• Responding positively to the pandemic-induced crisis: GoI and states should respond to the pandemic-induced economic downturn and implement necessary structural reforms.
• Focus on education and employment: India has too few institutions of excellence and of professional studies. Getting into ‘good’ Indian colleges is often harder than getting into US universities. No country has gone up the wealth ladder without widespread availability of both good public education and regular, skilled employment.

Conclusion
Building world-class public education infrastructure and coupling it with structural reforms is the way forward because we have enough people. All we need to do is to focus on leveraging this asset. Brain drain is not the actual problem, brain waste is.

Source: Times of India