NRIs Returning to India Due to US Financial Crisis

[Ceres]

ZDNet Asia has published an interesting interview with Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

Wadhwa states that many NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) are looking to return to India due to the current crisis in the US economy. However, according to Wadhwa, corporate India is not interested in hiring returnees unless the company requires a global perspective.

Some highlights from the interview:

"There was a time that NRIs (non-resident Indians) were in great demand. Today, most companies prefer domestic talent who, they say, are better trained and have less of an ego problem than the NRIs," he said.

According to Wadhwa, companies in India have overcome a severe talent crunch by providing extensive training to their workforce. The implementation of management development and training programs has also produced highly-competent managers.

"Headhunters say that if someone has been abroad for more than seven years, they are not considered employable in the Indian industry anymore," Wadhwa said.

"When these Indians start getting laid off, they will have two things to worry about--losing their job and making ends meet, and their visa status," he explained. "I expect that thousands will have to return home to India."

This may prove to be a big gain for India as its financial services industry is just picking up steam, and hiring experienced talent will make these Indian companies more competitive. "As the American financial services industry recovers, it will look to reduce costs. And what better way than to outsource jobs to ex-employees who have returned home and now cost 50 to 80 percent [what they used to]," Wadhwa said.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/business/0,39044229,62046877,00.htm

 

[Jeff]

Interesting find - I'm curious to see how this plays out.