Reverse Brain Drain: Accelerated By Covid-19

Ankit Goyal, Healthcare and Lifesciences Leader India, Heidrick & Struggles finds that leadership hiring is attracting ‘returnee Indians’ in healthcare companies due to growing opportunities in India, and more recently, the impact of the pandemic

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Reverse brain drain is when people move in reverse, from a more developed country to a lesser developed country but one that is developing rapidly. These migrants may have accumulated savings and developed skills overseas that can be used in their home country.

India today has one of the world’s largest and most successful diasporas, with millions of expatriate Indians and people of Indian origin living across a wide range of countries, seeking more economic opportunity and material comforts. Over the last two decades, the next generation of people of Indian-origin have come to represent a highly skilled (doctors, scientists, engineers, professionals, and entrepreneurs) group of locals in every country they live in. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, over 13.6 million Indian nationals were living abroad as of February 2020.

The Indian leadership talent is fairly distributed across the globe. In addition to traditional hotspots like the US and UK, new hubs are developing in Southeast Asia, China, and the Middle East.

Reasons for reverse brain drain in India

However, throughout 2020, returnees have been hitting the reverse gear, due to growing opportunities in India, and more recently, the impact of the pandemic.

India, a magnet for global healthcare investment, innovation and growth: Over the last few years, India’s healthcare and life sciences sector has been rapidly developing with increasing investments and a competitive edge in vaccines, generics among others. People have realised that India has more opportunities for professional development, wealth prospects and increasing quality to life.