A couple of years ago, I wrote about the rising and urgent impulse among overseas Indian information technology workers to return home, especially from the US. Visa requirements for skilled workers were being tightened, not just in America but also in Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Singapore. A new nationalist mood in those countries made Indian professionals feel increasingly unwelcome, sometimes even physically under threat. The tide seemed to be inexorably turning against India's techies, after a couple of decades of riding the information technology wave.
By all accounts, the flock of Indian returnees continues to grow, even as blood and soil political discourse holds sway in western capitals. Last July, Indian recruitment firms reported a 50 per cent rise in inquiries from US-based tech workers seeking work at home.
The returnees’ reabsorption in India was often difficult. A leaked government report recently revealed that India is faced with its highest unemployment rate since the 1970s. There had also been a profound change in the nature of the tech business, with cloud computing and other developments forcing Indian IT firms such as Infosys and Wipro to hire local staff much closer geographically to their projects in the US and elsewhere.
But nearly two years on, the situation is subtly, yet substantially, different. Anecdotally, the pall appears to have lifted recently for Indian information technology workers. The question is: how and why?
There seem to be two key reasons: survivalism and strategic adaptation to new opportunities, not least in Canada and Japan.
The survival instinct has been strong. Mani Karthik, a Los Angeles tech worker now back in Kerala, is a case in point. When I first spoke to him in 2017, Mr Karthik was in California waiting for a green card but preparing nevertheless to give up on the American dream and return to India. He had just created a website called Return to India, a tongue-in-cheek but helpful DIY kit to help other Indians manage the onerous process of leaving one world and re-entering another. Then, it was hard to predict the future.
Today, Mr Karthik is in Kochi and says his “solopreneur start-up is doing really well”. He adds: “The return to India community has grown organically ever since the site was launched and today we have a Facebook group, WhatsApp groups for all major cities in India and I see the interest only growing.”
Although he admits to “challenges” faced by tech workers returning to India, not least coping with its “work culture, nepotism, favouritism and laidback attitude”, what is noteworthy about Mr Karthik’s account is the new sense of realism among Indian professionals.
A good example of the new mood was a piece in an Indian newspaper last month by Ganesh Natarajan, chairman of 5F World, an Indian start-up that aims to help smaller, homegrown ventures. Mr Natarajan warned young Indians not to rely on the West for jobs. Work towards a career in the US “only if the American dream is still irresistible,” he wrote. “Many of us who have built successful careers in India and still travelled all over the world may inspire you to just work in India and succeed as well. Choose wisely and be happy.”
The stay at home, can-do mood is helped by forecasts that show India’s IT industry is on course to add 250,000 new jobs this year, with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics driving the sector’s growth worldwide and fuelling demand for Indian expertise. According to some estimates, job creation by Indian IT companies is expected to surge globally and domestically by next year.
Meanwhile, glittering new overseas opportunities have opened up. Canada, which expects to have 200,000 tech vacancies by 2020, has tweaked its permanent and temporary immigrant programmes to attract Indians looking to leave sunny Silicon Valley and find good prospects and a warm permanent welcome under wintry skies. Canada's Maple Valley, as it's called, might not seriously pose a challenge to Silicon Valley's long-term attractiveness but companies in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal show promise on artificial intelligence, e-commerce and deep learning respectively.
There is also the Japanese dream, promising about 200,000 jobs for Indian tech workers. Shigeki Maeda, executive vice president at Japan External Trade Organisation, has said this will swell to 800,000 by 2030. Green card and permanent residency status have already been eased for highly skilled professionals and Indians are encouraged to apply. There is no certainty they will and perhaps not in large numbers. But the offer indicates that India’s tech expertise has an outward-looking future once again.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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Total funding: Self funded
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Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners