Role of India Diaspora in the economic development of country

Flow of skilled migrants from the developing to the developed world - once viewed merely as brain ‘drain’ - may in fact be more accurately described as an imperfect circular flow of skilled workers, knowledge, finance, and development. The skilled Diaspora can invoke its capabilities, networks, and access to financial resources to catalyze economic development in the home country. In Somaliland, these factors culminated in the creation of a knowledge-based institution that has the potential to substantially contribute to the development of local human capital. Migration is an old and natural phenomenon. Many civilizations flourished due to migration of people. Today what we call Diaspora are the migrants of few years back and who are adapted to the new environment without separating their links with the country of origin. Diasporas are capturing the transnational as well as national space day by day because of their role in socio-cultural, economic as well as political spheres. Globally many Diasporas are playing a constructive role in bringing cultures across nations.

People of Indian origin constitute a global community of over 25 million people. It is bigger than many countries of Europe. It has been estimated that, PIOs living outside India has a combined yearly economic output of about $250 billion, about one third of the GDP of India. While India government would like to attract business and investments from the Indian Diaspora, there are other areas where India government should take interest and need to address issues such as those related cultural, economic, political and social. Diaspora in recent years is being recognized as a potential resource for development for their countries of origin as well as host countries. While country of origin has engagement through various economic and social channels such as remittances, investment, entrepreneurship, cultural exchanges and transfer of knowledge and technology, the host country too harness their mental and physical energy for its own prosperity. Economic and social development processes are not so simple; rather it is a complex interplay of many factors. In a sense, diaspora is seen in more of a positive than negative sense.