The term 'brain drain' denotes the migration of doctors, engineers, scientists, academics and other professionals from one country to another. The British Royal Society coined the term ‘brain drain’ for the first time to describe the outflow of British scientists to the US in the 50’s and the 60’s.
The losses caused by this global migration was alerted internationally way back in the '60s when the hiring and circulation of skilled workers within transnational corporations made an increasing contribution to international migratory flows (Salt, 1997). The causes and consequences of brain drain led to debates and resolutions in the United Nations, concerning the argument that the poor countries lost their skilled workers to the rich countries (Lowell, 2002).
Starting from 1960 till around 2000, India witnessed a huge exodus of qualified professionals moving to the developed countries for various reasons. Some wanted to pursue higher education (as certain specialized courses were not available in India at that point of time), others chose foreign shores for better pay scales (also taking advantage of the stronger dollar) to enhance their saving potential. There were also those who decided to migrate for better quality of life which included better infrastructure, stable political environment and less corruption in another country. Largely the migration rallied around better professional prospects.
Though few in number but brain drain does have some advantages:
- Qualified people migrating to developed countries are able to realize their true potential in an environment that offers them scope to utilize their talent
- Usually these professionals send a part of their earnings back to India which is valuable foreign exchange for the country. Not to mention that it enhances the disposal income of the families back home
- New skills and education obtained from the host country could be implemented in the home country
Just like every coin has two sides, brain drain also has it's own set of disadvantages, which are:
- The term 'brain drain' clearly spells out the disadvantage that our country faces due to the migration of qualified professionals who could have contributed to the growth of our country
- The country also loses valuable foreign exchange due to the payment of tuition fees for the higher education in the foreign country. Not to mention the cost of sustenance during the course of stay as well
- Due to cultural and social differences, often there are fitment issues which sometimes lead to stress for the family and the migrant
- Even though the migrants earn higher wages, the urge to spend more to acquire a lifestyle due to peer pressure sometimes defeats the very purpose of working overseas
- At a social level, it amounts to the fact that our country pays to train and equip the professional while another country reaps the benefit
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