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India’s Role in Global Skilled Migration
Context:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed optimism about India’s skilled workforce playing a prominent role in the global job market.
Background:
- Historically, India’s migration patterns have shifted dramatically from forced labour during colonial times to voluntary migration for education and employment in modern contexts.
- The liberalisation of India’s economy in the 1990s further accelerated skilled migration.
- The late 20th century marked a significant transition as Indian professionals began migrating to developed countries, particularly the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, driven by better career opportunities and living standards.
- The Indian diaspora comprises around 32 million people, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). This global community has created robust networks that facilitate further migration and enhance India’s influence abroad.
Overview:
- Skilled migration refers to the movement of individuals with specialised education, training, and expertise such as technology, healthcare, and engineering across international borders to access better career opportunities.
- Brain Drain vs. Brain Gain: The phenomenon of high-skilled emigration is often characterised as a “brain drain,” where countries lose their best talent. However, this perspective has evolved into a more nuanced understanding known as “brain gain.”
- Indian migrants contribute to their home country’s economy through remittances and knowledge transfer. For instance, Indian professionals abroad often engage in “knowledge remittances,” sharing skills and expertise that can enhance productivity and innovation back home.
Factors Driving Skilled Migration from India:
- Economic Factors: India’s skilled professionals are drawn to countries offering higher wages and better employment opportunities, particularly in sectors like technology and healthcare.
- Educational Factors: India produces a vast number of graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are globally recognised, making Indian professionals highly sought after.
- Political Factors: Stable governance and favourable immigration policies in destination countries make migration more accessible.
- Social Factors and Technological Advancements: Family reunification and the rise of global connectivity and digitalisation have made promise of a better quality of life.
Global Trends Impacting Migration:
- Demographic transitions, globalisation, technological advancements, and climate change are changing the demand for international migrant workers.
- Many destination countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, are prioritising skill-selective and skill-intense immigration to address challenges like ageing populations, digitalisation, declining fertility rates, and the need for economic diversification.
Government Policies and Initiatives:
- Indian Government’s Stance: Programs like the Skill India Mission aim to equip individuals with necessary skills that can reduce the need for migration by creating job opportunities domestically.
- Key Policies: Programs like the eVisa and collaborations with foreign governments facilitate migration. Talent retention programs aim to keep skilled workers within the country.
Challenges:
- Recognition of Qualifications: Many skilled workers encounter issues with the recognition of their professional qualifications abroad.
- Data Limitations: The only available data on migrant labour outflows comes from emigration clearances, but this only captures low-skilled workers with educational attainment below matriculation, migrating to 18 select countries.
- Bilateral Agreements: Often focus on social security, skills, and protection for workers. These agreements are typically isolated efforts, lacking a unified, strategic approach, and there are few evaluations to assess their impact or draw lessons for future policy.
Way Forward:
- Need for a National Policy on Labour Migration: India needs to develop a comprehensive national policy on international labour migration, with a focus on skill-centered migration to become a global leader in skill supply.
- Return Migration and Reintegration: Migrants’ skills acquired abroad should be certified by relevant institutions to ensure smooth transitions back into the Indian labour market.
- Identifying Skill Demands: India must anticipate the skills in demand across key destination countries by using data from skill-forecasting bodies like the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, and real-time job vacancy data.
- Quality of Skill Development: Focus on aligning India’s skill development programs with international standards by reviewing the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and ensuring compatibility with destination countries’ qualifications.
Need for a Skill-Centered Migration Information System: A system to collect, analyse, and report data on migration and skills. Such a platform would support evidence-based interventions, foster partnerships with destination countries, and enhance migration and development outcomes.
