The Hindu Business Line : Global Indians: There’s no stopping them

To most, this information will come as a surprise, though it should not, given the proximity and historical connections between India and Myanmar. But statistics about Indians abroad are full of such eye-poppers.

A dozen years ago, Singapore was the scene of a conference meant for networking of non-resident Indians.

They then called it Global Indian Enterpreneurs Conference, (which probably set the stage for what has now become an annual affair, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.) This journalist recalls a conversation with Khushwant Singh, in which the celebrated writer wondered with a hearty chuckle “how much these Indians (present at the conference) are worth”. He guessed it would be in the region of over $200 billion.

That was back in 1996, when people like Mr Lakshmi Mittal were yet to attain the iconic status that they have today.

The setting up of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs was eight years away.

The IT revolution was still in its incipient stages. Internet was an intrigue.

Today, there are far more Indians living abroad. The latest estimate is 25 million, bigger than the population of Australia or Canada. (Today, nobody cribs about ‘brain drain’). We often recall their immense contribution to India – it is such a feel-good doing so – but truly what they have put on the table of their host countries is also enormous, contributing positively to every measure of growth, except, as Ambassador Ronen Sen has pointed out, crime rate.

Roughly 3 million Indians (same as the population of New Zealand) live in the North American continent and their median income is estimated at $67,000 – well above the regional average and something that will make Khushwant Singh re-work his estimate.

What these global Indians have done to India is immeasurable.

At the very least, they send money home – $27 billion in 2007, according to the World Bank – financially empowering their families.

Reference is often made to China as a recipient of great help from its overseas nationals. But more than China, Taiwan has derived greater benefit from its diaspora.

The Taiwanese government used to write letters to the prominent members of its diaspora to come back home and help in nation building.

It is only wise to make better use of the resources of overseas abroad. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is held annually, not only as a means of networking overseas Indians but also to ‘take care of them’ (as the Ministry of Overseas Indians puts it.)

Usually, the PBD is held in January, but 2008 is a little different. The ‘PBD Singapore,’ slated to be held for three days from October 9, will be a regional variant.

The objective, according to the organisers, is to promote an event with a difference, which will be in tune with the City State’s efforts to remain “an economic hub” in the Asia-Pacific zone.

The prime mover is the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI). While the Confederation of Indian Industry has joined hands with the SICCI, the governments of Singapore and India have extended “full and active support,” according to Mr Sat Pal Khattar, Chairman of the ‘PBD Singapore’ steering committee.

So, the NRIs are congregating in Singapore after 12 years. Back in 1996, Sam Pitroda noted that the personal sacrifices one needed to make to work in India were indeed huge, but the personal satisfaction you got out of it was bigger.

Have things gotten better? We will probably have some clue on this on October 10.

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