What is Brain Drain?


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Brain Drain is the emigration of the top layer of educated and talented people of a country. It is a process through which highly trained and qualified people move to other countries. This migration is considered a serious problem, because highly skilled and competent individuals leave their original country, and contribute their expertise to the benefit of the economy and other advancements of other countries.    
           
So what are the effects of brain drain on a particular country?

There are a lot of disadvantages and effects of brain drain. Some of the most common are listed below:

    Loss of tax revenue
Due to the decrease in the number of the working class, there is a direct consequence of the decrease in the collection of revenue from them

    Loss of potential future entrepreneurs
Many people take up life in some more developed country and begin their own startup and or work at other companies, which not only improves the country's economy but also reduces the entrepreneurship of the original country

    A shortage of important, skilled workers
Due to the migration of skilled people, there is a shortage of skilled labourers in all fields of work

    Loss of innovative ideas
Those who leave the country may go abroad and pitch in their ideas to have successful ventures which will, in turn, add to the economy of that country.
So what are the main reasons for the brain drain? Let's talk about India in particular

1.    The leading factor is - Unemployment in India

Unemployment in India is a very serious issue. Millions of highly skilled students from various engineering colleges and a lot of other streams leave India to pursue their career abroad. Due to the current situation, hardly 10% of pass outs get proper employment. Not only youth but highly qualified staff too leave their job to go abroad due to the perks they get there.

2.     Improper Policies in India

An entrepreneur in India finds it very challenging to establish their business in the country as the economic condition of our nation is mostly not reliable. There are different laws which require businessmen to pay high taxes to the government from the income generated from the company. Due to this, many talented entrepreneurs leave India to go to a country where they can have tax relief and benefits.

3.  No value of talent due to unnecessary reservations

Some of the top executives in the world are Indians, yet they are not residing in India. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google; Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, and more are all Indians. Yet they are CEOs of MNCs and not any Indian companies. The sole reason is that in India, the value of talent is not recognised; the rich become richer and the poor become poorer. It is difficult to get a job without any bribe or having contacts. Therefore, the migrants from the home country are more successful in foreign countries because they value talent and not reservations. 

4.     High Population and competition

The population of our country is around 1.4 billion and granting jobs to everyone is next to impossible. There are millions of engineers, doctors, lawyers, CA’s, etc who graduate every year so it’s difficult to provide employment to all. Jobs don’t match the growing population, and thousands of people remain unemployed. Thus, they have no option but to go abroad and look for jobs. It has been confirmed by various surveys that the biggest gainers of the Indian brain drain are the European and western countries.

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How can we improve the current situation and prevent brain drain?

1.    The government must improve the standard of colleges &universities to restrict young minds from studying overseas.

2.    There must be an increase in the various types of jobs available in the home country.

3.    The system of Reservation should be modified in a way it benefits those who actually need it. Reservation should exist, but perhaps only for those who have less per capita income in the family or are economically not uplifted.

4.    Emphasize on the decrease in the Population of the country. Implement laws such as One Child Policy which has proved well in countries like China and is a likely way to control the population.

5.    If there is a balance in population and reservation, there will be enough employment opportunities in the home country and people will not feel the need to go abroad.
                               
There is also the need to put an end to Corruption and Red Tapism. The decision of making and passing of bills must be carried out faster and efficiently. There must be a proper check on different types of pollution and steps must be taken to reduce pollution in the country. Gender Biases must be removed and equal rights must be given. Superciliousness must be removed and literacy must be improved. These factors, too play a key role in reducing “Brain Drain” and can help improve the present scenario of India and various other countries.

- Sonal Bera

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