Western Executives are Starting to Look for Jobs in India

17 June 2007 - 20:20

The Brain Drain Heads East

More and more westerners are feeling the pull of a job in India and the opportunities it represents and above all the possibility of working in a country experiencing rapid growth. India's real GDP grew by 9.2% in the year to last September. In addition to this optimism is widespread, in a recent survey of 32 countries Indian businessmen were the most upbeat : 97% of the respondents said they were bullish about the future

Up until very recently not many westerners would have considered India as a place of employment, but the times they are a changing. After the hippies of the sixties and seventies India is now starting to see an influx of affluent executives (who may in fact be ex-hippies). The number of expatriate managers hired by Indian firms has in fact risen by between 5 and 15% in recent years. Clearly salaries in the West are higher than in India, but as growth has soared the salaries being paid have risen too.

New industries are opening up in Asia on the whole, such as tele-communications, retail and insurance amongst others. But given the rapid growth in India there is now a dearth of home-grown talent to fill the top jobs and managerial positions and executive pay is starting to become very competitive compared with the West.

There are also Indians who moved to the West who are now considering moving back to India. For many among the millions of people of Indian extraction around the world, these pay trends present a tempting chance to rediscover their roots.

In public relations for example outsiders are urgently required in India to train staff. This is mutually beneficial as local staff get the training they require and expatriates get the experience of living in India.

The biggest obstacle to growth of 9% or more is of course India's infrastructure - especially its awful roads, ports and power - China spends seven times more than India on its infrastructure.

Labour laws are also a severe problem, no Indian company employing more than 100 people can dismiss anyone without Government permission!

Finally the quality of public services is also a problem, from education and health to the provision of water. Half of urban households do not have drinking water within the home; one quarter have no toilet, either public or private. The rapid expansion in India seems to have made matters worse too. In Bangalore for example water is now available for less than 3 hours a day, compared with 20 hours in the early 1980s.

These problems need addressing but are not insurmountable and no doubt they will offer further opportunities for expatriates and non-Indians keen to experience something new in a vibrant and growing economy.

Further reading :
BBC
Economist
JobsInIndia
Tages:
india jobs
executive
expatriates