This report comes from this week’s CNBC “Inside India” newsletter, which brings you timely, insightful news and market commentary on the emerging powerhouse and the big players behind its meteoric rise. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Keshav Raj graduated with a degree in computer science from the prestigious SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Tamil Nadu four years ago.
He got good grades and interned at startups in India and Indonesia to improve his chances of finding a job. Raj’s hope is to find a position in a government office or in the documentation department of a multinational company.
“My parents took out loans (INR 1.9 million) ($22,491) for my degree, so I studied hard and interned to get a high-paying job soon,” the 27-year-old told CNBC’s Inside India.
After several entrance exams and interviews, Raj still hasn’t found a well-paying job. Out of desperation, he served customers as a customer service executive in a global competency center Amazon. He now receives 22,000 Indian rupees a month – barely enough to cover his family expenses and repay his student loans.
“My mother is a clinic assistant and my father is a car driver. They don’t make much money, so I need to make enough to pay the bills. If I continued working in India, I wouldn’t be able to cope – the competition is fierce , it is difficult to find a good job.
Raj is looking for work outside India and says he is “willing to go anywhere and do anything”.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of educated Indians seeking work outside the South Asian powerhouse, hoping for better pay, better career advancement and a higher standard of living.
According to data from employment portal findit, the number of international job listings posted on its platform by consultants and companies looking for talent in India has increased by 11.4% this year. At the same time, the number of applications from Indian users of the platform surged by 59.4%.
Anurag Sinha, chief product and technology officer at Foundit, told CNBC’s Inside India that behind the trend is “a cautious hiring approach by Indian companies in key areas, which has led to a temporary lull in domestic job creation over the past year.” ”.
“The economic slowdown has led to an increase in overseas job applications as professionals seek stability and growth in international markets,” he said, adding that Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates are among the top destinations for Indians seeking opportunities.
Sinha pointed out that in addition to the sluggish job market, Indians have been seeking opportunities with multinational companies through relocation or remote means to “expect the world, use advanced technology and obtain higher earning potential.”
Notably, applications are higher from candidates for entry-level or middle management positions with 0 to 10 years of experience, possibly because these candidates are younger, more ambitious and better able to adapt to different work environments.
As far as industry-based mobility is concerned, Sinha observed that professional jobs, especially in STEM sectors such as technology, life sciences and engineering, saw a higher number of applicants.
“(Professionals) remain highly sought after globally. Their expertise, adaptability and cost competitiveness make them valuable assets to employers looking for talent in areas such as software development, cloud computing, data science and medical research,” he said.
a long-standing problem
India’s brain drain phenomenon is not unique to the country. This is a perennial problem given the growing number of educated and aspirational millennials in emerging or developing markets.
In India, this phenomenon dates back to the early 2000s, when professionals from the medical and engineering fields sought opportunities, i.e. in the United States, this phenomenon occurred as “India lost its workforce of all skill levels for more than a decade.” changed.
Ghosh, a former professor at India’s Jawaharlal Nehru University and now a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told CNBC’s Inside India that “there is definitely a jobs crisis in India.”
“We have a younger generation who are ambitious and want a better life than their parents. They have received higher education. Their families sold land or assets so they could study, but now they can’t find jobs.”
“India has a job crisis because the number of jobs in the country has not kept pace with the country’s GDP growth rate of 5% to 7% a year,” Ghosh said, adding that the so-called employment growth in recent data Real job creation does not come from the self-employed, including those who run their own small businesses or provide unpaid labor in family businesses.
Her remarks came at a time when India’s employment-to-population ratio is only 52.8%, while the labor dependency ratio is 1.52. International Labor Organization (ILO) show. The labor force dependency ratio shows the ratio of dependents to total employment.
With only half of the working-age population employed, the country faces the daunting task of closing the gap between labor opportunities and the trajectory of the economy.
According to the United Nations, India has the world’s largest diaspora community, with approximately 18 million people living outside their country of birth.
“Many young people, including some of the most skilled, are trying to leave the country, leaving some important skills gaps despite the huge job losses,” Ghosh noted.
Notable talents who have left India over the past few decades include letter CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Chanel CEO Leena Nair.
Ghosh said the problems behind this are multifaceted. A key problem is that employment is not considered “the government’s main policy objective”.
“India’s GDP growth rate is 6.7%, but most of it goes to the richest 10% of the population. Government policies are oriented towards large companies owned by the Adani family, the Ambani family and the Tata family, rather than small and medium-sized enterprises microenterprise.
The economist also pointed to gaps in public employment, with “some 7 million unfilled vacancies” in government hospitals, schools and railways. Ghosh said hiring more people would translate into better services, provision of adequate facilities, better education and healthcare services.
“At the same time, you’re creating more jobs, which creates a multiplier effect and higher demand. That ultimately creates jobs and it’s going to be a bubble for growth, not just a trickle-down effect,” she added.
Terminology from the last century
As Indians seek employment abroad in droves, the Indian government is now adopting what External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar calls a “modern way” of looking at mobility and mobility.
“Draw a line – this is on the inside and that is on the outside, and when people step outside, we lose something; I think we need to overcome that,” he said during a series of lectures at the Institute of South Asian Studies at National University earlier this year. Singapore in those days.
Sunaina Kumar, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank, told CNBC’s “Inside India” that this shift in perspective has translated into a “brain drain” that is considered “the last century.” the term”. The movement is now considered to reflect “the integration and interconnectedness of the global workforce,” she said.
Other advantages of India’s globally distributed workforce These include economic benefits from increased remittances, Kumar added. World Bank data predicts that remittances received by India will increase slightly from $123 billion last year to $124 billion this year and to $129 billion by 2025against the backdrop of strengthening labor markets in the United States and Europe.
The future of India’s workforce
Whether Indian immigration will boost or drag down the country’s economy is a long-running debate. But for the South Asian nation, the top priority is ensuring its people have the ability to work and progress locally and abroad, while meeting their social and economic needs.
At a policy level, ORF’s Kumar recommended that India provide upskilling programs for fresh graduates and those already in the workforce to ensure they can meet changing business needs and consumer demands.
Among other things, she suggested that governments invest in urban planning and building better infrastructure to make cities more liveable and attractive for people to settle in.
“Life in Indian cities is extremely challenging. The standard of living in Indian cities, whether it is environmental degradation, poor infrastructure, pollution or traffic congestion, has always put pressure on people. So until we solve this problem, some of our most Good people will leave to seek a better life outside,” Kumar added.
Meanwhile, foundation’s Sinha believes organizations also have a role to play. To compete with international companies, he advises them to create a compelling value proposition, such as providing candidates with a clear career path and opportunities for long-term leadership development.
These improvements Solving India’s deep systemic problems will take time to implement. If managed and executed correctly, they can build a better, more competitive workforce that provides opportunities for people like Raj.
