By Dr. Harvinder Kaur
According to the Oxford Dictionary, ‘brain-drain’ can be defined as ‘the movement of highly skilled and qualified people to a country where they can work in better conditions and earn more money.” The word ‘brain-drain’ is related to the emigration of various technologists, doctors and scientists from the so-called ‘third world’ and developing countries to more ‘first world’ and developed nations, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, England, etc.
Based on data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, “1,37,26,945 Indians have travelled overseas in the last 5 years” on an employment visa. That is, between January 2016 and March 18, 2021. As many as 4.78 lakh people from Punjab left the country for employment from January 2016 to March 2021 and 2.62 lakh students for studies during this period. Punjab is placed third in the country, after Andhra Pradesh(2.82 lakh) and Maharashtra(2.64 lakh). Also, over 1.26 lakh people from Chandigarh moved abroad in January 2016 for employment and 31482 from Haryana. 43,135 from Haryana flew overseas during the period for higher education and Haryana will also be in the queue. The main motive of these youth is to get settled abroad. Around 1.5-2 lakh youngsters from Punjab go abroad every year to study and earn a living. Around Rs, 30,000 crore goes to foreign institutions in the form of fees and other expenses, which constitutes 20% of Punjab’s budget. More than half of the first-rankers of standard 10th and 12th board exams between 1996-2015 — the brightest Indian minds — migrated abroad and are still employed there. In Budget 2019-20, India allocated Rs 6.43 lakh crore of public funds towards education, part of which went into subsidising the studies of skilled emigrant Indians. In this way, the investment in the Indian educational system indirectly contributes to the progress of foreign nations.
Students choosing to move abroad for higher education cost India about $17 billion a year in lost revenue, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Not only students but the migration of businessmen also affected revenue. Studies have found that 23,000 Indian millionaires have left India since 2014 and that nearly 7,000 millionaires left in 2019 alone, costing the country billions in tax revenue. Since 2015, nearly 9 lakh Indians have given up their citizenship. These all are the economic cost of brain drain. It is typically seen in terms of economic cost because emigrants generally take with them their government-sponsored education or training from other resources. India is facing a shortage of skilled labour, particularly in crucial fields like healthcare and engineering. At the same time, for higher education and jobs, a large number of trained staff emigrate each year. The trend of brain drain has a beneficial impact on the host country, and another nation’s brain drain becomes a brain benefit for the receiving country. Most developing countries, including India, one of the major nations impacted, suffer from brain drain, and developed nations such as the United States of America have benefited from this phenomenon.
We can see that the intensifying “brain drain” phenomenon has resulted in an outflow of skilled workers and professionals. About 30 per cent of physicians in the National Health Services, England, are of Indian descent according to a study.
Another significant finding of the study is that while there is only one doctor for every 2,400 Indians, there is one Indian doctor in the US for every 1,325 Americans. As per government reports, India has 1.7 nurses per 1,000 population and a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:1,404 which is well below the WHO norm of three nurses per 1,000 population and a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:1,100.
Several factors can cause brain-drain, namely a country’s political unrest, lack of economic opportunity, the standard of living or personal reasons. In every part of the world, there is a need for qualified professionals. Better living standards and quality of life, higher wages, access to sophisticated technology, and more sustainable political environments in developed countries, however, tend to attract professionals from lesser developed countries like India.
There are strong pull and push factors associated with the migration of workers, in terms of higher pay and better opportunities in the destination countries. Lack of higher education opportunities is one of the major reasons for brain drain. The increasing cut-offs, reservation policy and leaking of competitive exams make access to higher education difficult in India. Abroad, they have an advantage over students from other countries in terms of skills and knowledge. India’s Gross domestic expenditure on research has stayed at 0.7% of the GDP for years. India has one of the lowest GERD/GDP ratios among the BRICS nations. So, brilliant minds in R&D tend to migrate to other countries to continue their research. Developed countries offer better pay to sectors like health, research, IT, etc. Income is one of the main triggers of emigration from India. Non-recognition of talents is another big reason. The chances of being recognized in one’s field are difficult in a populous country like India. Bright minds choose foreign countries where their work is appreciated more. Moreover, the developed countries provide better living standards, salaries, tax benefits, etc, which becomes a great attraction for emigration. It is unarguable that the facilities available abroad are yet to be matched with by developing countries, and hence till that level of life quality is achieved, migrations will continue. Societal pressure also induces brain drain. Indian youth are becoming more liberal and personal with their life, and the society here is yet to come to terms with this kind of lifestyle. Hence, the pressure to live a certain way in the Indian society is curbing the freedom of choice of today’s youths, encouraging them to seek western countries where the society is more liberal and non-interfering. The developed nations are easing migration policies to attract talents to boost their economy. They target Asians specifically to take up intellectual labour. The better pay and living standard offered by developed countries is, of course, the foremost reason for emigration.
If we want to stop the brain drain from India, we have to generate more employment opportunities in our country. Focus on technical education and research should be more. The education pattern should be self-employment oriented. Education should be accessible to all irrespective of their caste and religion. Cottage and small-scale industries should be promoted with the cooperation of public-private partnerships.
