India leads global exodus for better life, says UN report

"Mexico is the second most significant origin country at around 11 million. The Russian Federation is the third largest origin country, followed closely by China (around 10.8 million and 10 million respectively),” says the report.

"There are two types of international migration from India: first, workers who are categorised as ‘unskilled’ or ‘semi-skilled’ and who migrate mostly to the Gulf countries. Second, the semi-skilled workers, professionals, and students who migrate to the advanced capitalist countries,” explains Naresh M. Gehi, Founder & Principal Attorney, Gehis Immigration & International Legal Services.

He explains: "With remittances earned from abroad, families of international migrants have prospered and could contribute to the development of their provinces and country. The knowledge gained by emigrants from India about the economic progress made in other parts of the world, and the social, cultural, political values of other societies, also benefit the country."

Advanced countries and Gulf

The flip side, according to Gehi, is that most upper caste or general category people in the country have migrated to the advanced capitalist countries, while the Dalits and backward classes have found their moorings in the Gulf as unskilled labour.

Due to the high cost of international migration, and the lack of land and resources for most people from the poorer or backward class families, their participation in international migration is relatively low.

Estimates suggest that most emigrants to the Gulf send money home to their families. Even some first-generation emigrants to advanced capitalist countries did the same, but the trend is rapidly declining now.

Such is the desperation to leave India – coupled with a lack of resources – that to cover the costs, emigrants’ families must take loans from institutional and non-institutional sources and sell land, plots, houses, vehicles, farm machinery, jewellery, livestock and much else besides. Household savings must be used and helped, or advance money taken from relatives and friends and employers.

International remittances

There is a gap between the migration expenditure incurred and remittances made by international migrants, which directly brings to light the flow of capital out of the country. This is likely to increase soon, the report predicts. According to it, in 2020, the total Indian remittances stood at $59 million.

No surprise that many families of international migrants are in debt.

Most significantly, the lust for migrating is all-consuming. The proportion of educated people, for example, among international migrants is high and steadily increasing. These individuals range from secondary school to PhD degree holders. Their emigration clearly highlights the ongoing problem of ‘brain drain’ from India.

The immense power and resources of society have been used for their upbringing and education, but it is benefiting the foreign countries, experts say.

Of emigrants who leave on student visas, most have a low level of education abroad and many of them do physical work which they would strongly eschew in their home country.

Although some religious institutions and philanthropists abroad do help those who have left the country, most NRI businessmen couldn't care less.

S Irudaya Rajan, one of India’s leading migration experts, while not doubting the extent of those emigrating, raises questions about the figure of 18 million being presented by the World Migration Report. "When the Indian government itself does not have figures of how many Indians there are abroad and if the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) numbers about how many `overseas Indians’ (31 million) is not in consonance with what the United Nations is saying, which figure are we expected to believe,” he queries.

Brand India hazy

He believes this is a national craze that is not going to go away until Brand India makes a place for itself. "When India’s labour classes go to the Middle East, the governments in the Gulf are very careful to brand them as temporary wage labour, on let’s say, a two-year contract, upon the expiry of which they have to leave. The US allows Indians to stay on and you can see that once an Indian reaches those shores, he is unlikely to ever come back,’’ Rajan, who is also Chairman of The International Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala, told Moneycontrol.

A total of 8,81,254 Indians gave up their citizenship since 2015, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha in December last year – and it needs no guess to know that they have become residents of developed countries.

Amarjiva Lochan, governing council member, India Centre for Migration (ICM), a think tank attached to the MEA, is another doubting Thomas: "Figures presented by the World Migration Council are doubtful. They are designed to show India in a bad light, as if everyone is wanting to get the hell out of here. It is politically motivated.”

Nonetheless, experts like Gehi sum up this frenzy to get out of this country – by hook or by crook.

*** Better quality of life. People aspire for a better quality of life. This includes unpolluted environment, 24/7 electricity and drinking water at home.

*** Social pressure. Settling abroad is considered successful. Owning a shop in the USA is more successful than owning the same shop in India.

*** Search for suitable matches. In matrimonial advertisements, it is not uncommon to see people searching for `only those who are settled abroad.’

*** Lack of research opportunities in the country. Those interested in cutting edge research want to move to the US, Canada, which facilitates migration, or Europe. In reality, many Indian government funds discourage money to be spent on going abroad, because they believe it will be misused.

*** Lack of support for entrepreneurship. Although it is picking up, India has a long way to go. Many ideas such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Uber, Quora, etc. are very simple ideas, but they get venture funding and fructify.

*** Extreme corruption. On a monthly basis a big scam surfaces, leading to suspicion among bright young minds, who lose hope in the system.

*** Social Injustice. Some feel discriminated because of their caste (lower or upper), or their religion, and prefer to move to developed countries, where they expect that discrimination to be less or hopefully, non-existent.