An imperative retention

India has been an exporter of educated and skilled man power to various parts of the world since the beginning of the 20th century. Today, 1,33,83,718 Indians are reported to be living in different countries. There are 4.8 million Indian migrants living in OECD countries alone, ranking India as the second origin country for immigrants; a quarter of them have reached there in the last five years. It is reported that 69,000 Indian-origin doctors were serving in the UK, Canada, and Australia, alongside 56,000 Indian-trained nurses in 2017. The dual advantage for India is that while on one hand, millions of Indians secure jobs abroad, on the other, their remittances to families back in India remain an enormous and perennial source of foreign exchange. According to a World Bank's survey, India was the world's largest recipient of remittances in 2022 (around USD 16 billions), making up to 3-4 per cent of its GDP. However, though it’s a feather in the cap for the nation to have been able to supply such enormous qualified manpower to the world, the downside of migration cannot be underplayed.

Firstly, India is losing its talented manpower regularly as the migrants prefer to relocate in host countries; 8,81,254 people had given up their Indian citizenship between 2015 and 2021. A report by InterNations Expat Insider 2021 says that 59 per cent Indian migrants working in various foreign countries relocated themselves — higher than the global average of 47 per cent. It is reported that more than 50 per cent of first rankers of 10th and 12th Board Exams have migrated between 1996 and 2015. It’s ironic that India spends a fortune on human resource development, only to see its talent pool move away to advanced countries when there is a greater need for the same at home in sectors like medicine, healthcare, infrastructure, science & technology and whatnot. If the surge in migration continues with such an unpatriotic mindset, sooner or later, India may face a talent crisis in attending to its developmental needs. That said, a lesser-known fact is, notwithstanding the remittances or celebrated PR status, the migrants only swallow their pride in the bargain for better earnings and quality lifestyle since the reality is that a migrant is practically a second-class citizen in the host nation. Much celebrated success stories cannot obfuscate the truth.

Secondly, a new wave of migration has surfaced in recent years — the 'investment migration'. A report by Morgan Stanley Bank (2018) says that 23,000 millionaires of India have left the country between 2014 and 2019 to acquire citizenship and operate businesses in European countries. The 'Golden Visa' is a great pull factor while strict tax regimes and anti-corruption drives at home appear to play as a push factor. It facilitates the acquisition of citizenship in the host country through structured residency investment programmes like in Portugal and Malta, or through setting up of businesses in countries like the UAE. Australia and Singapore offer extensive benefits to HNI (High Net Worth Individuals) from source countries through talent-based visas. The HNIs also feel it safer to invest in different countries and acquire assets ranging from equities to real estate as it would work as a bulwark against country-specific risks and also secure the future of their 'dynasty'. Access to international markets, with a variety of businesses, tax reliefs, quality lifestyle in cooler climates, healthcare etc. are added advantages. It is reported that wealth migration from India has risen by 54 per cent between 2000 and 2001. It implies not only a substantial loss of tax revenues to India but also a reduction in employment at home and slowing of growth, not to mention stashing of native black money in safe heavens abroad.

While the above two classes of migrants walk to glory on red carpet, there is also a less fortunate class of people behind the barbed wire, pursuing the ‘American Dream'. While they are extorted ruthlessly by middlemen masquerading as travel agents or recruitment agencies, before embarking on the 'donkey route’, they also face untold miseries after reaching the destinations. While some struggle to survive doing menial jobs (sanitation workers, maids, waiters, cleaners etc.), shockingly different from the cushy jobs and comfortable life they dreamt of, many others end up in detention camps with subhuman living conditions for months, only to be deported eventually. Sadly, some even die while crossing rivers and jungles on foot en route to host countries. The heartrending case of an Indian doctor and his family, including two young children, in January 2022, being frozen to death, meters away from the US border, is only the tip of the iceberg that points towards large-scale terrible human suffering involved in illegal migration.

A study by UNODC in 2010, headed by KC Saha, IAS, focussing on Punjab and Haryana, reveals that violations go unreported either for fear of arrest and deportation or retribution by the migration smuggling gangs. Racketeers facilitate illegal migration through not only fake documents but also through exchange of boarding passes, visas and residence permits in the security areas inside the airport. They charge between Rs 15 to 30 lakhs per person, and the aspirants sell their lands and properties to meet the expenses. However, the law-enforcement machinery finds it hard to book the culprits since FIR is filed only as a last resort when 'other' ways of settlements between the victims and the perpetrators fail. Report also says that more than 80 per cent cases end up in compromise with the help of 'police mediation'; a pity indeed.

Neither the brain-drain nor the investment migration can be dealt with complacency since the ramifications for the future could be serious. Steps to regulate the flow of migration is necessary. Equally, citizens of a free country migrating to foreign lands, only to make a living through servile drudgery, or to suffer in detention camps, is an infamy for any nation. It is a matter of urgency to stop unlawful migration, or else it will adversely affect even the lawful migration, just like Gresham’s Law stated that 'bad money drives the good'. Since the racketeers are internationally linked, it is necessary to reinforce international cooperation to catch the mafias by short horns. Proper legal measures at home can also help address a lot of issues. Punjab successfully enacted a specific law, 'The Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act', in 2012. It is expected of other states, too, to follow suit, corresponding to their social, cultural and geographical specifications.

Lack of adequate opportunities, as against rising aspirations among people, is one of the chief push factors for migration. Weak rule of law and insecurity to life and liberty add fuel to fire; people want to escape to promising lands. Conversely, how many citizens from developed countries want to migrate to third world countries? Not even in hundreds. The contrast sums up that the surge in migration (legal and illegal) reflects the system's failure in ensuring proper life chances for citizens and necessary environment to sustain the hope for better future. While practically there is no law restricting outward migration, the law on renouncing Indian citizenship, on the contrary, is the simplest. India, today, is a fast-growing economy with tremendous potential for creating opportunities. It is high time we rose to the occasion and devise ways and means to improve the state of affairs.

The writer is a former Addl. Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh. Views expressed are personal