Reverse brain drain is a reality today. Those who had left the Indian shores for greener pastures are now returning to the country of their origin as the booming economy has made the erstwhile desolate Indian pastures much greener now.

To be fair, even today overseas jobs have a ‘shine’ and offer lucrative opportunities. What has changed is the fact that the corporate environment in India has also become diverse and challenging and the standard of living has become comparable to that abroad and when combined with the charm of staying with family and friends, it offers a potent alternative to relocation.

Twenty years ago people left an India where the only employer was the government. Often it took over ten years of prudent family budgeting to buy a refrigerator and another five to get a two-wheeler. Most enterprising Indians were unwilling to wait or opted for better financial security opportunities overseas.

However, today thanks to unprecedented high domestic economic growth and the opening up of our economy all the consumerist delights of the developed economies are now freely available to all. The high demand for skilled manpower has directly led to an upsurge in salaries as well. This increase in purchasing power coupled with easy availability of consumer goods has indirectly fuelled demand, which in turn has motivated people to perform even better. This unceasing cycle of demand, performance and increasing salaries has catapulted the work environment and lifestyle of the average Indian to levels comparable with those settled in the US or UK.

What makes India irresistible for those who left is the comparatively lower cost of living and higher growth of salary. Not only has the per capita income of employees has risen 30% between 2000-06, Indian-owned companies are offering better salary packages than multinational firms in India. India is the preferred destination not only for NRIs but students from our top institutes are opting for jobs based out of India. In 2006, 18 students of IIM Ahmedabad gave up foreign offers to take up domestic roles to play pivotal roles in organization based in India rather than move out.

Nasscom, estimates that 30,000 technology professionals have moved back in the last 18 months. Bangalore, Hyderabad and the suburbs of Delhi are becoming magnets for an influx of Indians, who are the top-earning ethnic group in the United States. These cities, with their Western-style work environment, generous paychecks and quick career jumps, offer the returnees what, until now, they could only get in places like Palo Alto and Boston.

Also, the average ‘techie’ has a better standard of living and more disposable income in India. The key difference for them is that one generally moves from a middle-class life in the US to an upper-class lifestyle in India. A very mouth watering proposition for most Indian mind sets. Another advantage for people considering a move to India is that they would enjoy a substantial jump in their roles and responsibilities. Since India is currently in its growth phase, companies are more willing to try giving larger roles to US-returnees.

Though there are a lot of infrastructure bottlenecks in India, many of the basic livelihood issues like housing loans, school admissions, medical and recreational facilities etc.- have become much more accessible to the common man. A lot of good professionals (specifically in their early to mid 40’s) want to return. But they have saved judiciously to give their children the best available education and for their old age. For others the attraction is there, but the decision is difficult to make. However, most returnees are first-generation expatriates, for most second-generation Indians living abroad the decision is a little more difficult to make.

Over the long term though, as barriers between countries keep decreasing and the rate of growth of our economy stabilizes talent would move across different countries purely determined by supply demand gaps. Most foreign returned candidates have unrealistic salary expectations, unfortunately for them the foreign returned tag does not any longer command a premium until and unless the experience and academic background is rock solid. However, for us Indians ‘the war for talent’ is an all win situation for it provides us with the ideal platform to leverage our strengths. This is one war that we would rather not see the end of.