Indian doctors, engineers, scientists, academicians have traditionally moved to the US or Europe in the past to realize their true potential. Today it is a different story all together as professionals who are well settled abroad are returning to India not just to join the corporates but some of them are even setting up their own businesses.

Irrespective of the sector, this talent pool brings with it not just competency but also fresh cultural perspective to the organization. With the global boundaries vanishing, these are helping Indian corporates create a global work environment within India itself.

Information Technology

The IT sector has been experiencing a serious talent crunch. This amounts to around 30%. Till sometime ago, Indian IT professionals sought employment in those companies which offered them global experience or ensured an overseas job. Every effort to curb this was proving to be futile till recent times. This sector has been attracting maximum number of NRIs in the past couple of years because of the attractive salaries and benefits coupled with a challenging work environment. A dramatic change in the work culture in this sector is also contributing to the return of the NRIs.

BPO

The BPO industry is experiencing 'brain gain' in the past couple of years. This industry is increasingly attracting foreigners to work in India. Many foreigners are getting pulled towards our economy as they find the prospect of working for a dynamic economy very promising. BPOs have been hiring foreigners mainly for training, transaction and migration processes and in quality management. A lot of BPO and call centre companies have started emphasizing on training. Training received from Americans or British employees can help neutralize the Indian accent, which is important from a customer perspective.

Pharma and Chemical

There is a huge demand for research scientists in the pharmaceutical sectors. The only obstacle in this industry is the low pay scale which makes it difficult for the industry to make itself attractive to an RNRI (Returned NRI) who would consider pay package as one of the most important factors while choosing to work for a company in India. Leading global pharmaceutical companies are setting up operations in India. Due to this, there are a large number of expatriates being sent to our country to manage operations leading to reverse brain drain.

Automobile

The Automobile industry is investing heavily in Research and Development which is encouraging NRIs to return to Indian shores. Indian companies like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra are attracting Indian talent from overseas. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, there are around 250 expatriates who have returned to work in Research & Development department in the domestic automobile companies.

Defense

The Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) has around 6,900 scientists against a sanctioned strength of 7,225. The DRDO is stepping up its 'talent search scheme' to attract NRIs. This scheme has been successful in pulling 40 PHD and MTechs working in academics or industry in countries like the US, UK, Japan or Sweden.