When highly qualified experts like scientists, engineers, doctors and oft trained persons migrate from under-developed countries and settle down: advanced countries, their migration is called “Brain Drain“. This problem is n peculiar to India alone. It is being faced by almost all the developing country of the world.
Brain drain results in direct loss to the underdeveloped and poor countries who train these experts at a great cost. When these experts migrate to advance countries, such countries stand to gain because they get the services of the experts without having had to spend anything on their training.
According to a U.N.O. report, thousands of experts migrate from backward countries like India to highly advanced countries like the U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Germany, etc. U.S.A. has been the biggest gainer from the brain drain in India.
Image Source : russia-direct.org
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There are a number of factors responsible for brain drain in India. First of all, India lacks job opportunities. When, after completing higher studies, people do not get any employment in India, they start looking forward to advance countries for jobs.
Secondly, we do not recognise talent in our people, much less offer jobs to them. Hargobind Khurana could not get any job in India. We became aware of his talent only after he left India and became a Nobel laureate.
Thirdly, India lacks facilities for advanced research. Most of the students who go abroad for higher research do not return to India. They are offered lucrative jobs so that they may stay on in advanced countries and give these countries the benefit of their research.
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Fourthly, advanced countries like the U.S.A., Britain, Canada and Germany, offer to the experts a much higher standard of living than what they can get in developing countries like India. Moreover, in advanced countries, one can earn while learning. The stipends in foreign countries are substantial. A frugal Indian living in a foreign country can even save something and send it home.
India is endowed with vast natural resources like oil, gas, coal, iron ore, gypsum, diamonds, uranium etc. There is no doubt that if these natural resources are exploited in full, India can become one of the developed countries of the world. The Indian experts, whom we lose every year, can stay on in India and help in the development and exploitation of natural resources. Even those experts who have already settled in foreign countries could be lured back to India so that they can help India to become a great power in the world.
This problem cannot be solved without the co-operation of the people. The parents of the students should discourage their sons and daughters from going abroad even if they are offered lucrative jobs. Our political leaders should be serious about this problem, and they should set a personal example by preventing their children from going abroad and settling there.
All the doctors, scientists and engineers should realise that they owe some duty to their country. Our country spends lakhs of rupees on their training. On becoming experts, they should not betray their country by serving foreign countries. They should have a feeling of gratitude to their country.
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There are many Indian experts who are loyal and are serving the country by contributing their talent for the advancement of science and technology. India has already become a nuclear state. It has also entered the space age. It is one of the few countries carrying out research in Antarctica to find out its natural resources. Thus India offers enormous scope and opportunity to the Indian scientists to serve their own country, and win laurels and recognition among their own people.
Our Government has also been inviting, from time to time, the scientists, engineers, technicians, academicians and even non-resident Indian businessmen, settled abroad, to return to India and help in the fast industrialization and development of their motherland. They have also been offered a lot of incentives to set up their own industries in India.
Of course, recently many of the Indians settled abroad have shown their willingness to come to India and participate in its scientific, technological, industrial and economic development.