Blessings of the Visa Gods

Context: US President has revoked his directive of asking international students to return to their home countries for completing their education online.

India’s Brain Drain Phenomenon

• Economic Drain of India:
• Outward Remittance: Indians are taking more money out of India to educate and maintain themselves abroad.

• US universities earn US$45 billion from international student fees every year -  US Department of Commerce estimate.
• British universities could lose anywhere up to GBP19 billion if the intake of international students falls sharply. $10 to $13 billion is remitted annually as tuition fees abroad.

• Inward remittances: by workers in the Gulf region and some H1-B workers in the US. 
• Net drain on Indian economy: in terms of cash and brainpower

• The out-migration of educated Indians is not balanced by the return flow of income, knowledge, investment, and talent.

• Brain Bank/ overseas Indians do not contribute to National development leading to both financial and intellectual drain.

• Brain Drain of India:

• No provision of brain drain tax or systematic effort: encouraging outgoing students to return home.
• Outmigration based industries: encouraging school students for graduating education abroad.
• Out-migration is becoming a classless phenomenon: as demand for exit visas from the middle class is the same as that of upper-class families. 

• Population/Physical Drain: 
• Indian elite is increasingly domiciled overseas: Indian students traveling West for education also hope to eventually emigrate. Thus, online education has little appeal for Indian students.
• Tool of Trade Diplomacy: Promoting out-migration of skills as a matter of national interest seeking favorable multilateral trade regime for the “movement of natural persons”.

Conclusion: The outmigration of Indian’s has failed to contribute to the home country’s development rather the Non-Resident Indian is becoming the Not-Returning Indian.