By Ankita Raizada
Yes, People who are living in foreign Countries or an Indian citizen who has migrated to another Country are Overseas Indians. When I was studying in school, many of my friends wished to get settled in abroad or to get a job in foreign. Many of them got the job and doing well now. I wonder why people are so eager to go abroad and settled over there. This has become a trend now and augmenting day by day.
Sometimes it also puts a question mark of our work culture and on Indian policies for the employed, however people get attracted to get settled or work abroad for better quality of life, work-life balance, no hierarchical structure, no reservation system and obviously a higher pay are some prominent reasons however, behind all these reasons core is economical difference. Especially if we talk about US, UK we find mixed culture, vast opportunities, their less judgment nature which is one of the best in segment and also a great reason to move abroad.
Indian government has taken initiatives for overseas Indians like voting rights to NRIs, resource centre, Indian council for overseas, community for welfare fund, overseas Indian facilitation centre and so on. Through their excellent and steep hard work, those Indians living abroad make sure that India continue to bloom as a well-defined and proves to be a powerful nation. It is good for our Country that Overseas Indians are getting appointed in foreign countries on highly designated posts. Recently, Rishi Sunak has been appointed as a UK Prime Minister which in itself is a big achievement and a moment of proud and this will further build a rich cultural and diplomatic relations.
As per the data of Bureau of Immigration, 18 million Indians went abroad between January and November in 2022.
7.2 million, 40 percent of the 18 million left the Country for residency and another 7.1 million were tourists. So, it shows number of Indians repudiation citizenship has increased significantly in the last few years.
As per survey, 8 million Indians are living abroad. US, UK, France, Australia are their preference Countries while middle east and south east are their other favoured regions. In some Countries Overseas Indians have been living now for last 2-3 generations. who are working overseas or permanently settled there while they have kept their roots intact.
One of the strengths of our people living Overseas is global network. To unlock quiescent potential of India, we need to act as a key anchor in creating economic value. Some of them are sourcing from India, invest in India, outsourcing, technology transfers, education, training and moreover skill development. As per economical view, these Overseas Indians who have opened their account in India, so the inflow of funds from abroad which is obvious a huge capital and, in this way, government is able to utilise them in various keen projects which is beneficial for our Country’s development.
Boom in India’s share market one of the reasons behind this due to the bulk share purchase in various listed companies by the NRI. And that’s why prices of real estates have gone up during the last decade or this has helped in real estate sector and infrastructure.
High net worth individuals are increasingly setting foot in abroad to modify their wealth, expand their business, find a new place to call home, or simply lead a better quality of life. Indians go to numerous nations for work, education, and business purposes. In addition to huge companies in the USA and Europe, they have modest businesses in African cities. Overseas Indians has been appreciated by those Countries where they are working and through their hard work as their contribution is of utmost important. They are true cultural ambassadors for India as they played a symbolic role in Country’s growth and globalization of culture.
More importantly, there is another aspect to overseas Indians. Indian immigrants are already feared by some as job-stealing immigrants, and now they risk being tarnished as unruly, tax-dodging foreigners. Therefore, how the world sees our community as a whole is crucial. Indians could encounter criticism for the way we portray our culture. However, as we all know that Overseas Indians always successfully contribute to the economy in India. This sub-structure will give other Overseas Indians a choice to select their own model of success and in which direction they move their steps.
By Ankita Raizada