Trends in Brain Drain,Gain and Circulation: Indian Experience of Knowledge Workers

Abstract

The concepts of brain drain, gain and circulation in the Indian context presents a fruitful sociological and policy relevant experience to understand the phenomena as it unfolded over many decades. As this essay demonstrates, 1960s to 1980s emerged as the phase of brain drain. The country witnessed considerable economic growth and development of S&T infrastructure coupled with the emergence of science community and intellectual climate in the 1990s. The development reversed the process of brain drain. A historical perspective is adopted which presents ample data and empirical evidence to map the evolution and operation of three phases. Towards mapping the last phase of brain circulation, it is shown that the country embarked on the development of ICT software sector and become globally relevant and competitive. In an unexpected way the growth and dynamics of this high technology service oriented sector has unravelled the process of brain drain transforming it into brain circulation.

MIGRATION OF SCHOLARS AND SCIENTISTS has existed since time immemorial. The mobility of scholars and scientists is generally considered as essential condition for innovation, scientific creation and proliferation of knowledge. The movement of scholars and scientists is treated as the need of wisdom lovers in search for knowledge and real arenas for science. Nalanda (India) an ancient centre of religious learning from 5 AD to 1197 AD attracted scholars from Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Tibet, China, Persia and Turkey. The 20th century saw movement of skilled workforce as altogether a new phenomenon following the rise of Nazism and even more so immediately after the Second World War. It was characterised as movement of considerable number of intellectuals and scientists from war ravaged Europe to North America and that to mainly in the United States. The migration of Highly Qualified Professionals (HQP¹) is a natural phenomenon of this era. Brain drain is defined as:

International migration of highly qualified persons, e.g. surgeons, physicians, scientists and engineers, from low income countries to more prosperous economies, especially the USA. Differences in salaries and research facilities, together with the over-supply of specialized graduates in less developed countries, has brought about this increase in the human capital stock of advanced countries. (Rutherford, 1992, p. 47)

The discussion over the migration of skilled workforce is stemming as far back since 1960 and has undergone various phases in last five decades with important implications for both, host as well as receiving countries. Scholarship on migration of skilled workforce deals with the phenomena mainly, as three different but overlapping concepts, namely—‘Brain Drain’, ‘Brain Gain’ and most recently ‘Brain Circulation’ (Gaillard & Gaillard, 1998). Bushnell and Choy (2001) did try to describe brain drain in terms of skills loss. They say that the word ‘Brain’ is used to define any skill, competency or attribute that is considered as a potential asset. The word ‘Drain’ is used to imply that the rate of exit which is at a greater level than the normal rate. Taking example of India, various studies in 1970s and 1980s quantified brain drain showing alarming rates of loss in the form of migration of skilled workforce. Demand and supply mismatch of skilled workforce, inadequate working conditions, economical issue, lack of retaining government policy, inadequacy of research facilities, lack of research fund, lack of freedom, low occupation income were quoted as main reasons behind brain drain from India. In recent decades, scholarship on brain drain has adopted a new perspective and did try to look into the other side of brain drain. Popularly termed as ‘Brain gain’ it is considered as the second generation effect of brain drain. The scenario started changing by 1990s and there was remarkable increase in scholarship enumerating the positive side of brain drain in the form of brain gain. Scholarship treated migrated skilled force as a remote asset and qualified it as brain bank abroad. India witnessed two phases of brain gain, one in 1950s and 1960s and another in and after 1990s. Various studies conducted by scholars in India in the field of biotechnology, IT&ITES, medical sciences, drugs and pharmaceuticals, agriculture also establish the fact that with globalisation of production and subsequent liberalisation of the economy shows that the dominant trend was of brain gain in India. Various other programmes such as ‘Know India Programme’, ‘Tracing the root’ scheme, Establishment of Persons of Indian Origin/Non Resident Indians (PIO/NRI) and the Ramanujam Fellowships instituted in late 1990s provided an important channel to return migration.

With the turn of century and with the advent of network society catalysed by information revolution,² a new concept of ‘Brain circulation’ has come into sharp focus. Brain circulation is defined as to and fro movement of skilled workforce. This kind of mobility of skilled workforce between home country and receiving country stimulates creation, dissemination and adaptation of new knowledge (Gaillard & Gaillard, 1998). The conceptual lineage of the brain circulation approach can be traced to the Mertonian notion of scientific nomadism (Meyer et al., 2001). Scholars believe that changing innovation and production system along with important developments like globalisation, boundary less career options, ease of movement regarding professional assignments across boundaries and dual citizenship have made the circulation of professionals feasible. Scholarship on brain circulation along with focusing on the movement of individuals also focuses on potential contribution of the diaspora knowledge networks in development of their home countries thus providing as systemic view to the support and generation of knowledge. Anna Lee Saxenian in her book The New Argonauts³ draws attention to ‘brain circulation’, in the Indian context. The book redefines core–periphery framework of globalisation to elaborate the way in which technology entrepreneurs build regional advantage in order to compete in the global markets. She observes, ‘the increasing mobility of highly skilled workers and the information, as well as the fragmentation of production on information and communication technology sectors, have led to unprecedented opportunities for formerly peripheral economies’ (Saxenian, 2006, p. 4). Saxenian further tracked the journey of these high-tech immigrants who, after successfully establishing their IT operations in California, have decided to ply between the US and their countries of origin to manage their businesses in disparate regions of the world to capitalise on the opportunities in both the US and their motherland. The structure of this article is in a way historically designed in terms of three main sections. In the first section, the main focus is laid on brain drain covering the period 1960s to 1980s. The second section is concerned with the second generation effect of brain gain in the period 1980s and 1990s. The concept of brain circulation from the turn of the present century is explored in last section with some empirical support.

Brain Drain: An Indian Experience

The brain drain paradigm is premised on human capital theory, which treats skilled workforce as human capital and as a fixed asset that could be manipulated due to economic and social conditions and is critical for the development of native economy. The term ‘Brain Drain’ is used as a synonymous of the movement of human capital, where the net flow of expertise is heavily in one direction (Salt, 1997) thus in context human resource development in developing economies the brain drain is treated as loss of human talent.

Data compiled by Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, on the outturn of science and technology personnel (Table 1) could be used to show the oversupply of scientific manpower. From Table 1, we can clearly infer that there was substantial rise in the supply of S&T professionals in Indian market. Taking the reference years as 1960 to 1980, in basic sciences total PhDs awarded in 1960 were 361 and in 1980 figure rose to 2262. In engineering and technology, PhDs awarded in 1960 were 38 and in 1980 figure was 506. In agriculture sciences PhDs awarded in 1960 were 11 and in 1980 figure were 480. In medicine number of MD/MS in1960 were 397 and in 1980 figure was 3485.

TABLE 1

Trends in Outturn of S&T Personnel in India (1950–1989)

Degree	1950	1956	1960	1966	1970	1975	1980	1985	1989
Sciences
BSc	9628	16139	22706	42463	83654	95395	99749	12006	134366
MSc	1425	3255	5382	10106	16742	17557	17638	19377	24591
PhD	79	210	361	776	1212	1484	2262	2838	3044
Engineering and Technology
BE/BTech/BSc Engg	2198	4558	6031	14099	19204	15316	18364	22998	28927
ME or MTech	100	331	764	943	1733	2068	3155	3228	4560
PhD	–	23	38	94	247	445	506	559	560
Agriculture
BSc	1000	886	1700	5259	5909	3966	6280	8257	8301
MSc	154	313	488	1191	1670	1511	2384	3119	2876
PhD	4	11	11	94	217	289	480	782	792
Medicine
MBBS	1557	2732	3387	6558	9562	10144	15090	16370	17968
MD/MS	88	171	397	1049	1266	2204	3485	5017	5945
Total	16150	28530	41265	82632	141406	150379	169393	202551	231930

Source: Statistical Tables, Research and Development Statistics, NSTMIS.

Zaheer (1972) points out that absence of enlightened leadership which recognises the role of science and scientists, political instability, lack of indigenous resources in men, material and advanced technical know-how and absence of adequate aid and cooperation from advanced economies are the four major reasons behind underdevelopment of science in developing countries. Salam (1966), while talking about underdevelopment of science in developing countries, says that no good libraries, no good criticism, new ideas reaching slowly to scientists and no communication with groups abroad are the other reasons behind the isolation of scientists and thus promoting brain drain. A study on brain drain by Mahanti et al. (1995), based on 17 research groups in 12 scientific institutions, drew attention to the sociological problems inherent in the formation of a scientific community or specialist communities. A major finding of this study is:

…economic incentives is not the only motivation for researchers to leave their home countries. Appropriate intellectual climate conducive for research, wherein the presence of other researchers and groups in their specialization who provide a meaningful context for the research attention is seen as the most crucial feature for checking the process of brain drain. (Mahanti et al., 1995, p. 109)

Taking the case of engineering, two studies in mid 1980s of IIT-Bombay and IIT Madras would be pertinent to explore the extent of brain drain in 1970s. These studies reveal the fact that the IITs accounted for 40 per cent of all engineering graduates who migrated to the western world (mostly USA) from India. As IITs are regarded as the best engineering institutions in India, the rate of migration shown in the studies clearly put forth the alarming rate of brain drain from India. The 1986 Review Committee Report on IITs indicated that during 25 years the institutions produced 27,000 graduate engineers. Two important studies by Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987) and Ananth et al. (1989) on IIT Bombay and IIT Madras, respectively, presented the extent of brain drain in institutions of higher learning. As Table 2 shows, the data on IIT Bombay for the mid-1980s reveal that approximately 37 per cent of undergraduates and 31 per cent of postgraduates went abroad after engineering studies and only a small percentage that is, between 3 and 7 per cent returned to India.

TABLE 2

Brain Drain of IIT Bombay Graduates; Percentage of Graduating Students

Degree	Go Abroad	Go Abroad and Return	Brain Drain
BTech	37.51	6.71	30.8
MTech	16.65	3.25	13.4
PhD	14.23	4.43	9.8

Source: Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987).

Another micro level analysis done by Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987) to measure the extent of the brain drain is shown in Table 3. The brain drain should not be measured only in terms of the total numbers, but it should also be in terms of those with superior academic performances. It is felt that the percentage in this group who stay abroad is very high. In order to study this hypothesis, Table 3 is based only on the alumni who graduated in the upper quarter of their class. The important result emerging from these tables is that 42.9 per cent of the alumni in this group are now settled abroad. This is 12.1 per cent higher than the percentage obtained for all alumni.

TABLE 3

Location of Graduates of IIT Bombay (1973–1977)—Year-wise Analysis for Top Twenty-five Per Cent in Each Discipline

Year	Address Known		Address Not Known	Total	Percentage of Alumni		Percentage of Addresses Known
Year	India	Abroad	Address Not Known	Total	India	Abroad	Percentage of Addresses Known
1973	40	24	14	78	62.5	37.5	82.1
1974	23	25	19	67	47.9	52.1	71.6
1975	22	24	18	64	47.8	52.2	71.9
1976	22	16	16	54	57.1	42.9	70.3
1977	30	14	21	65	68.2	31.8	67.7
Total	137	103	88	328	57.1	42.9	73.2

Source: Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987).

Of the many findings presented in the study done by Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987), two major findings behind large-scale migration are: First, substantial number of alumni out of those who did not go abroad were willing to go if financial aid had been available. Second and perhaps the most important finding is that the principal positive feature of a Western society which encourages Indians to settle there is a ‘comfortable standard of living’. ‘A commitment to first rate science and technology’ is perceived as the next most positive feature. This would appear to be a vindication of the statement often made that ‘brains go where money is’. These two positive features combined with the most dominating negative feature of Indian society as perceived by the alumni, via, the all-pervading presence of a suffocating, unresponsive bureaucracy, are the root causes of the heavy brain drain of IIT graduates.

Krishna and Khadria (1997) says that

Study on IIT Madras done by Ananth et al. (1989) reveals alarming facts (Table-4). Since its inception in 1959, the proportion of its graduates emigrating abroad is 26 per cent. The extent of migration steadily increased from 20 per cent during 1968–72 to 35 per cent during 1983–87. Speciality-wise, migration varied from a minimum of 18.4 per cent in aerospace engineering to a maximum of 44.6 per cent in chemical engineering.

Among the two batches of new technology related computer science graduates of 1986 and 1987, brain drain was as high as 58.5 per cent (see Table 4).

TABLE 4

Discipline-wise Migration from IIT Madras (1986–1987)

Discipline	% Graduates	% Abroad	% Migration
Aerospace	7.2	5.1	18.4
Chemical	14.0	24.0	44.6
Civil	14.0	10.1	18.8
Comp. Science	0.8	1.8	58.5
Electrical	24.9	18.4	19.2
Mechanical	25.8	30.0	30.2
Metallurgy	11.4	10.6	24.2
Naval Architecture	2.7	0.0	00.0

Source: Ananth, Ganesh and Natrajan (1989).

At the most general level brain drain is conditioned by political and economic imbalances in the world system. From this perspective, it can be defined as one of the form of core–periphery model in which the flow of HQP is unidirectional as in moving from peripheral economies to central economics. On the basis of studies aforementioned, the period of 1970s and 1980s is considered as era of brain drain in India. In late 1980s, Government of India took serious note of loss of human capital in the form of brain drain and started devising policies, methods, procedures to curb the exodus and at the same time to reverse the trend of brain drain into brain gain. Even though brain drain process continued there seems to be some evidence to the development of what has come to be known as brain gain.

Brain Drain to Brain Gain

Brain gain⁴ is relatively a new terminology emerging out of reversal of brain drain phenomena. The term brain gain appeared in late 1960s in Swedish and American publications pointing that brain drain was beneficial to the developed countries (Dedijer & Svennigson, 1967; Friborg et al., 1972). The focus shifted and brain gain wasn’t much into discussion during 1970s and 1980s. It was only towards the end of the 1980s and in early 1990s brain gain as a concept again came into focus. In 1990s it was mainly discussed and interpreted in relation to brain return to the home country. Hunger (2002) says that ‘The basic idea of the brain gain hypothesis is that intellectual and technical elites from the third world who immigrated to an industrialized country represent a potential resource for the socioeconomic development of their home country.’ ‘Globalisation of human capital’, on the other end of the discourse, would be a new description of the concept of brain gain—a subset perhaps of ‘globalisation of human resources’ or ‘globalisation of labour’ (Khadria, 2002). Since 1990, there has been a remarkable increase in scholarship focusing on the second generation effect of brain drain. The debate at policy level as well as a boom in empirical work on migration and development enumerated the positive side of brain drain in the form of brain gain. Accessing the diaspora option and realising Rajiv Gandhi’s⁵ concept of ‘Brain Bank’, contacting native HQP abroad and their engagement in scientific, technological and cultural programmes at home has made an increasing number of developing countries consider their HQP living abroad as a potential asset for national development.

Brain Gain in India up to 1990s

Policy initiatives relating to brain gain in India present us with two phases in 1940s and later after 1990. After independence in 1947, the government led by Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister initiated institutional measures to attract Indian professionals living abroad to work in the newly created science institutions and universities in the country. Early efforts on brain gain by Indian authorities include the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) system in the 1950s which created space for hundreds of faculty members. Another initiative at the policy level was of sending the faculty for training abroad in specialised areas of research and teaching. Round Table Conference called by the prime minister in 1967 recommended to take every possible effort to evolve institutional mechanisms to ensure the return of Indian scientists living abroad. Elite scientists such as Homi Bhabha, S.S. Bhatnagar, M.N. Saha and D.S. Kothari made relentless efforts to identify potential young Indian brains working abroad and persuade them to return for assuming responsible positions in Indian laboratories. The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bombay which was founded and initially headed by Bhabha was built in this way. During 1960s the agriculture research system was overhauled by networking agriculture education with the research institutions. Elite agriculture scientists such as B.P. Pal, M.S. Randhwa and M.S. Swaminathan played transformative role by attracting various talents in the process of implementing the scientific and technological processes underlying the Green Revolution in India. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) which instituted a National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel in the late 1940s and created a special ‘Indians Abroad Section’ of the National Register in 1957. In an effort to create avenues for attracting Indian scientists and technologists from abroad, the CSIR in 1958 launched a scheme called ‘Scientists’ Pool’. In early 1990s, some authors begin to analyse the circumstances where the brain drain could possibly turn into brain gain.

TABLE 5

National Expenditure on R&D in Relation to Gross Domestic Product

Year	R&D Expenditure at Current Prices (₹ crores)	GDP at Current Prices (₹ crores)	R&D as Percentage of GDP
1996–1996	7483.88	1083289	0.69
1996–1997	8913.61	1260710	0.71
1997–1998	10611.34	1401934	0.76
1998–1999	12473.17	1616082	0.77
1999–2000	14379.60	1786526	0.81
2000–2001	16198.80	1925017	0.84
2001–2002	17038.15	2097726	0.81
2002–2003	18088.16	2251415	0.80
2003–2004	20086.34	2538171	0.79
2004–2005	24117.24	2877706	0.84
2005–2006	28776.65	3275670	0.88
2006–2007	34238.39	3953276	0.87
2007–2008	39437.77	4582086	0.86
2008–2009	47353.38	5303567	0.89
2009–2010	53041.30	6091485	0.87

Source: Data compiled and collected by DST in Research and Development Statistics 2011–2012.

As noted earlier, brain gain, after the phase of brain drain, re-surfaced after economic liberalisation in 1991. As Table 5 shows, India’s GERD/GDP with minor fluctuations increased every year from mid 1990s. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), setting up of R&D centres by multinational corporations and the growing importance of ICT software sector gave rise to a new industrial and economic climate from mid 1990s. This is also the era when Indian GDP growth rates registered one of the highest in the world after China. This enabled the country to invest more money into S&T sector and develop research and innovation ecosystem. As the study by Krishna (1996), titled ‘Brain Drain, Brain Gain and Scientific Communities: Indian Experience in the Field of Biotechnology’, indicates efforts to establish biotechnology in India in the late 1980s and subsequent proactive policies of Department of Biotechnology in the 1990s led to further strengthening the innovation system of agriculture, health and pharma related biotechnology. The Survey of 13 research groups in biotechnology established that institutionalisation and growth of specialist communities over a period of time, intellectual climate and viable number of research groups, centres of higher learning with research infrastructure, professional societies or informal networks of collegiate pattern, local and national journals and above all sources of intellectual leadership give a direction and leadership in the emergence of specialist groups. These intellectual leaders acted as ‘gate keepers’ to international connectivity and in many ways monitored and prevented outflow of professionals in biological sciences.

TABLE 6

Expenditure on Research & Development by Major Scientific Agencies

Agency/Yr	1980–81	1990–91	1995–96	2000–01	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10
CSIR	69.00	249.19	411.70	864.12	1427.04	1457.46	1863.70	2355.20	2666.44
DRDO	79.70	681.00	1395.40	3359.32	5283.33	5362.82	6104.55	7699.07	8475.38
DAE	73.48	275.54	486.64	1005.52	1752.50	2060.09	2138.57	2982.50	3858.21
DBT	–	41.37	73.83	120.58	325.85	432.32	491.59	635.23	727.38
DST	40.64	119.82	223.67	311.46	1237.05	1359.46	1676.01	1991.16	2222.90
ICAR	97.45	276.25	432.37	1161.74	1717.27	2014.16	1992.38	2583.80	2881.30
ICMR	9.00	44.54	50.60	149.12	331.00	394.00	266.65	564.18	583.50

Source: Data compiled and collected by DST in Research and Development Statistics 2011–2012.

Table 6 shows the growth of expenditure on R&D by major scientific agencies in India from 1980 to 2010. All these science departments witnessed unprecedented phenomenal growth in their budgets, some agencies witnessing up to 3000 per cent increase in three decades. Two decades after 1991 can be considered as most fruitful period for Indian science and technology. Most importantly, the salary levels of all the central government employees, including scientific and technical professionals in more than dozen science agencies, witnessed more than two-fold increase due to two central government pay revisions.

Initiatives to Promote Brain Gain

Gain in the form of technology transfer from scientists and technologists of Indian origin was realised through the Transfer of Knowledge through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) programme in the 1990s. This programme enables non-resident Indian (NRI) professionals to spend between four to eight weeks in Indian institutions. This scheme is mediated through the Interface for NRI Scientists and Technologists (INRIST) centre established under the CSIR in 1990 by the Indian government. It basically works as an interface between the NRIs abroad and the receiving organisations and industry in India that offer the visiting placements. Another significant initiative was ‘Action India’ which was brain child of Sam Pitroda and several other Chicago based Indians who were keen to pool their energies with resident Indians to hasten the development of India. In Bangalore, there was an initiative in the form of strong voluntary organisation of NRI professionals called RNRIA (returned NRIs association) of India with motto of ‘Back to Serve’. Though the initial membership in this organisation was dominated by doctors but now it has mushroomed into multi-sectoral voluntary organisation with professionals form all technical fields (Krishna & Khadria, 1997).

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) instituted two major schemes in the form of ‘Ramanujan Fellowships’ and ‘Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)’ to attract researchers and scientists working abroad:

Ramanujan Fellowships aim to attract brilliant scientists and engineers from all over the world to take up scientific research positions in India. The Ramanujan Fellows can work in any of the scientific institutions and universities in the country and they are eligible for receiving regular research grants through the extramural funding schemes of various S&T agencies of the Government of India. The duration of Ramanujan Fellowship is five years.⁶

‘Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE)’ Faculty Award under ‘Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC)’ scheme initiated during the year 2011–2012. This scheme provides opportunity to the scientists within 32 years of age and who have completed their doctoral research from any recognised university/academic institution in the world. Each ‘INSPIRE Faculty Awardee’ receives a consolidated amount equivalent to the scale of the Assistant Professor of an IIT as Fellowship amount with ₹ 7 lakh per year as Research Grant for 5 years. Since inception, 33 candidates of Indian origin including NRIs having PhD degrees have been selected for award so far. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) took the initiative in the form of following schemes to encourage researchers and scientists working abroad to find work opportunities in India:

Wellcome–DBT India Alliance: Biomedical Research Fellowship Career Programme: DBT has entered into an alliance with Wellcome Trust (WT) to launch a three-tier fellowship programme on biomedical research at post-doctoral level. The programme has been established since September 2009 and functions as the Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance. The Department of Biotechnology and the Wellcome Trust each have committed 8 million pound sterling per year, for a period of 10 years. The fellowship funding programme is established to attract a strong cohort of qualified scientists working abroad to seek career opportunities in India. So far 64 fellowship awards have been granted of which 30 have been from the best overseas laboratories and are now located at various Indian institutes.

Ramalingaswamy Re-entry Fellowship: The scheme was initiated in 2006 by DBT for Indian scientists who are working in overseas institutions/universities and would like to return to India to pursue their research interests. The fellowship is given for a period of five years initially and could also be considered for another term based on a fresh appraisal depending upon the progress made.⁷ So far 147 scientists have been selected in the last five batches and 102 fellows from overseas laboratories have been relocated to various Indian host institutes.

Young Investigator Meet (YIM): It is an organised event to bring institutions and researchers/scientists on one platform. It is organised every year in India and overseas to display various job opportunities available in India. Till 2013, 45 YIM attendees have secured faculty positions at various labs in India and 20 of these have been awarded different Indian fellowships, that is, DBT-Wellcome Trust, Ramanujan Fellowship, Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowships.

Various other programmes instituted in late 1990s and in the beginning of twenty-first century also provided a channel to return migration. Facilitation programme to increase interaction and showcase Indian progress through programmes like ‘Know India Programme’ provided the required platform to diaspora interaction. Establishment of PIO/NRI university on the recommendation of high level committee on the Indian Diaspora to facilitate the education of children of people of Indian origin, scientific awards and encouragement by private sector companies as Infosys foundation has started Infosys Science Prize with cash prize of ₹ 5 million, ‘Tracing the Root’ scheme launched by Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2008 help people who migrated to Caribbean, pacific and Indian ocean to trace their roots back in India.

Brain Gain in 1990s and Afterwards

One of the earliest studies (Krishna, 1996), referred earlier, is relevant here. Institutionalisation of biotechnology in India began with the setting up of Department of Biotechnology in 1986. This led to rise in R&D expenditure and professionalisation in field of biotechnology. This research study revealed that out of 13 research groups that more than 60 per cent of the leading scientists working in the areas related to modern biology obtained doctoral and post-doctoral training in the West or spent between 3 to 5 years abroad before taking up post-doc and higher positions in India. The most notable internationally recognised institutional groups in universities/institutions and scientist-leaders who given initial leadership are shown in the Table 7.

TABLE 7

Leading Biotechnology Research Groups in India 1990s

	Research Institute/University	Scientist-leader
1	Indian Institute of Science	P. Balram, Sasi Shekharan, T. Ramasarma and G. Padmanabhan
2	Madurai Kamraj University	K. Dharmalingam, G. Shanmugam and Muthukkaruppan
3	Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, CSIR	P.M. Bhargava, Laiji Singh, C.R. Dass, among others
4	National Institute of Immunology	G.P. Talwar and others
5	Indian Agriculture Research Institute	V.L. Chopra and R.S. Paroda
6	Delhi University	B.K. Bachawat and S.C. Maheshwari
7	Banaras Hindu University	D.P. Burma and Maharani Chakravorty
8	Indian Institute of Chemical Biology	Jyotirmoy Das
9	Poona University	V.V. Modi
10	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research	Obaid Siddiqui
11	Indian Veterinary Research Institute	P.N. Bhatt
12	National Chemical Laboratory, CSIR	John Barnabas and V. Mascarnehas

Source: Krishna (1996).

The return migration of leading scientists and initiation of new frontier areas, such as DNA Finger Printing group at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, appears to be closely associated with the institutional growth of the field of biotechnology. Several scientists interviewed during the study revealed that scientists found a reasonable professional context created in 1980s and 1990s. The role of leadership led by P.M. Bhargava in attracting best talents in biology from abroad, the emergence of intellectual climate and viable number of research groups and research infrastructure facilitated reverse brain drain or brain gain.

Khadria’s (2002) study also reveals that there is a positive trend of return migration among Indian IT professionals in the era beginning late 1990s. The survey on IT professionals in the city of Bangalore and their role in making the city a corridor for international mobility of Indian professionals; and the second survey of health professionals (doctors and nurses) in the city of New Delhi give ample evidence to the process of brain gain.⁸ Out of 45 respondents, 85 per cent indicated that the most important factor for going abroad was ‘to gain experience that would later be highly valued in India’. Another important reason quoted by respondents was that the developed countries have state-of-the-art technological infrastructure, edge in technological advancement and are professionally more accomplished. Over half of the respondents in the survey revealed that India was emerging as a major IT power and hence there are better employment opportunities. Rapid development of India’s Software Technology Parks in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi National Capital Region and the government infrastructure created did motivate IT professionals to come back to India. A very positive outcome pointing towards brain gain is the fact that none of the IT professionals in Bangalore was keen to settle abroad. This development highlights a unique aspect behind Bangalore becoming a ‘corridor’ for IT professionals that offered ample challenging and rewarding opportunities for their career growth in India in general and Bangalore in particular.

Elizabeth Chacko (2007) highlights that emergence of cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and the suburbs of Delhi and Mumbai have become magnets for a stream of returning first-generation Indian immigrants from the United States. All these cities offered opportunities in IT, biotechnology, research and business sectors. Synchronised efforts led to returning of immigrants who were part of the ‘knowledge diaspora’ thus embodying skills, connections and capital that helped thrust the Indian IT industry into the forefront of global frontier. A study by Nasscom-McKinsey Report (2005) indicated that 25,000 IT professionals returned to India between 2000 and 2004 after working abroad. As this study further revealed:

Twelve of the 20 top IT software and service exporters from India in 2005–2006 had their headquarters in Bangalore, offering numerous job opportunities. Some 95% of international companies in Software Technology Parks (STPs) in Bangalore were run by Indians who had lived and worked abroad, mostly in the United States. (Kapur, 2002)

Approximately a third of the employees working in R&D at General Electric’s John F Welch Technology Center in Bangalore were returnees from the United States. (Ryan, 2005)

Professionals who returned did cite a combination of pull and push factors and personal and professional reasons that affected their decision to return to India. Most of the professionals in this Nasscom-McKinsey study indicated several positive developments in India such as exciting work, prospects for advancement, a desire to return to their roots, hope for a lifestyle that allowed more time with family and salaries that were commensurate with those in the United States in terms of purchasing power. Emergence of technical and professional schools and TNCs R&D centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad provided training to work in the various R&D and innovation projects. In addition to the Indian Institute of Science, the city of Bangalore has several India’s leading research institutes such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation, ISRO Satellite Centre, Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics and the Raman Research Institute. Bangalore has evolved as major hub for aerospace, biotechnology and ICT sectors. Among Hyderabad’s premier institutes are the International Institute of Information Technology, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. In 1999, the new Indian School of Business (ISB), affiliated with the London School of Business, Wharton Business School and the Kellogg School of Management was established in collaboration with the AP government and a group of Fortune 500 entrepreneurs. All these institutes provided source for the application of new skills and provided work environment to professionals.

Another important study in 200–2008, sponsored by Department of Science and Technology (DST), lends further support to the trends of brain gain in four technological areas: information and communication technology, biotechnology, drugs and pharmacy and agriculture. This DST study is based on the primary data of 879 respondents who returned from 1990 to 2008. More than 63 per cent of the respondents returned between 2005 and 2008. Nine per cent (80) of the respondents in the study revealed that they have started novel projects in ICT, biotechnology, pharma and agriculture. A total of 7.28 per cent (64) respondents have developed new processes; and 3.86 per cent (34) respondents have developed new products after their return. However, 57 per cent (503) and 22.52 per cent (198) of respondents indicated that they have contributed to development of processes after return but have not specified or given any response about other achievements. There is substantial evidence from various studies that the problem of brain drain of 1970s and 1980s period turned into brain gain in the beginning of twenty-first century.

Brain Circulation: Contemporary Experience

In the last decade, the phenomenon of brain circulation has come into sharp focus in migration studies. Brain circulation, in our view, is associated with knowledge-based society and catalysed by the ICT revolution in a large measure. Emerging economies such as BRICS which have invested in developing science and technology capacities over the last couple of decades have benefitted through the process of brain circulation in a number of ways. Gaillard and Gaillard (1997), Meyer and Brown (1999), Teferra (2005) and Saxenian (2005, 2006) draw attention to the role of diaspora and consider it as having huge potential in contributing to development of their home countries. Newland (2009) says, ‘The term circular migration first appeared in the late 1960s and 1970s, mainly in the anthropological and demographic literature on urbanization, rural development and internal migration in developing countries.’ Johnson and Regets⁹ (1998) drew attention to the existing cycle of study abroad in the form of brain circulation. Anna Lee Saxenian (2008) analyses the migration of knowledge workers and supports the idea that international labour movement may help transfer technology across borders in both directions: from native countries to host countries and vice versa. In her work on ‘The New Argonauts’ she further maps the mobility of knowledge workers in different locations of globe and sheds ample light on ‘brain circulation’. Her book redefines the core–periphery framework of globalisation to elaborate the way in which technology entrepreneurs built regional advantage in order to compete in global markets. Saxenian noted that by the end of 1990s, Chinese and Indian immigrants (with the former outnumbering the latter) accounted for 29 per cent of all IT start-up companies in Silicon Valley. Saxenian further tracked the journey of these high-tech immigrants who, after successfully establishing their IT operations in California, have decided to ply between the US and their countries of origin to manage their businesses in disparate regions of the world to capitalise on the opportunities in both the US and their motherland. Jons¹⁰ (2007) in his work on spatial movement and knowledge production in Germany between 1981 and 2001 says, ‘At a time when the knowledge economy is growing in international importance, the global circulation of scientists and scholars appears to be of crucial importance to the competitiveness of modern nation states and individual academic institutions.’ Anjali Sahay (2009) argues that as innovation and inventions have no national boundaries the flow of labour, skilled as well as semi and unskilled is multidirectional thus putting forward the case of brain circulation.

Despite, ‘Brain Circulation’ being a well-known concept, not many qualitative/quantitative studies are available estimating the extent and the impact of brain circulation in India. Anna Lee Saxenian has explored the extent of brain circulation in India with reference to IT professionals. Saxenian’s chapter titled ‘IT Enclaves In India’ traces the history from 1980s and presents a case that how policy level change in the era of Rajiv Gandhi lead to the development of IT in India and ultimately making India as IT super power by late 1990s. The computer policy of 1984 recognised software as an ‘industry’ thereby giving entitlement to the industry for investment and incentives. The import tariffs on software and PCs was reduced from 100 per cent to 60 per cent. In 1986 Computer Software, Development and Training Policy liberalised access to technology by opening this field to foreign investment and access to venture capital.¹¹ In early 1990s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) acknowledged the role of state policies in promotion of computer industry. As this body observed:

the software and services industry has received immense support from the government both at the central and state level. This support, in the form of tax incentives and other benefits has been instrumental in the growth of software and services exports from India. (NASSCOM, 1999, p. 14.2, as cited in Sarma & Krishna, 2010)

The study by Sarma and Krishna (2010) draws attention to the role played by a range of public policies in 1980s and 1990s, which have given a big boost to the software sector. These policies infused considerable dynamism, which in turn attracted thousands of software professionals back into the country to establish micro, small and medium enterprises to take advantage of liberal government policies. It is worth highlighting some of these policies.

The Export–Import Policy of 1983, permitted duty-free imports of computers with a cost, insurance and freight value of half a million rupees. The New Computer Policy of 1984 advocated further simplifying procedures and actively seeking to streamline and reduce intervention into the market. The policy allowed participation of Indian manufacturers by opening manufacture of microcomputers, allowed equity participation of foreign corporations up to 40 per cent and removed all quantitative restrictions on production.

Another important initiative was the setting up of the software technology parks (STPs). The initiative was specifically taken by Department of Electronics (DoE). The STPs provided a single window for clustering diverse software players along with facilitating their growth, providing space and cluster agglomeration efficiencies and reducing procedural inefficiencies. Co-location of customs within the STP premises led to speedier disposal of custom and tariff issues, a major factor of delay in other sectors. Other supportive policies and concessions included approvals under ‘single-window clearance’, 100 per cent foreign equity, tax holidays, duty-free imports and permission for sub-contracting. 75 per cent of the software and related services of US$ 100 billion around 2010 is accounted by STPs.

The STP norms and software related policies in 1995 gave these firms a 10-year tax holiday, which were kept extended and was valid till 2010. Further thrust to computer industry is provided in terms of progressive reduction in duties, where the state reached zero duty regimes in computer products by 2003.

Intellectual Property rights protection and innovation capabilities were augmented by a host of policy initiatives. To induce more investment for R&D activities, a weighted deduction of 150 per cent was announced on the sums paid to any university, college or an institution or a scientific research association for the purposes of scientific, social or statistical research.

All these efforts started yielding results in the 1990s and particularly after 2000 as export oriented software firms grew at an average 20 to 25 per cent per year for a decade. Twenty-first century marked a turning point for Indian IT sector as US educated Indian Engineers began to return home and the ‘Brain Circulation’ between the United States and India accelerated. ‘By 2002, however, the combination of recession in silicon valley and growing professional opportunities in India triggered the first sustained interest in returning home on the part of US educated Indians’ (Saxenian, 2006, p. 288). Saxenian further says that by 1999 there were 10 Indian firms including Wipro and Infosys who achieved CMM level 5 certification, compared to only 6 companies in the United States. By 2003, the number companies having CMM level 5 certification raised to 60. These rating allowed Indian companies to establish themselves as credible companies in IT domain and thus saw continuous rise in software export to leading economies. The Indian IT industry grew from $5 billion in 1997 accounting for 1.2 per cent of India’s GDP to $ 100 billion and accounting for 6.5 per cent of GDP in 2010. The growth of Indian IT/ITES sector in India in terms of value established India as major IT power in the world. Establishment of over 471 R&D Centres of Transnational Corporations (60 per cent in ICT sector) in major Indian cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR by 2011, induction of capital through ventures capitals and cross-border collaboration between IT firms as service provider, facilitated the return of Indian professionals back home. Cross-boundary collaboration between various firms created channel of movement for professionals between head-quarter and periphery offices thus bringing migrated brains back to India and turning ‘Brain Drain’ into ‘Brain Circulation’.

Another important source of brain circulation, particularly in ICT software sector, has been the role of two major professional associations located in Silicon Valley, USA and their collaborative and business links with software hubs such as Bangalore through NASSCOM. This body which has over 1000 members of Indian software firms has a fulltime lobbying firm based in Washington and played an important role in the relaxation of H1 B work visas for Indian IT professionals. From the 1990s the body initiated a programme to curb piracy and protect the intellectual property rights of professionals and institutions in this sector. In the last few years since 2005 NASSCOM has been playing an important part in mobilising the ICT efforts of several state governments and collaborated in launching ICT policies and e-governance programmes which created considerable demand for software solutions for e-governance in dozen sectors of economy.

The Indian Diaspora, comprising ICT professionals in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere is another factor in the dynamic evolution of the Indian software sector. According to some estimates, about 25 per cent of the firms in Silicon Valley and Route 128 in the US during the past five years have either been managed or owned by professionals of Indian origin. Various studies (Saxenian, 2000, 2002) have drawn attention to the socio-cultural nature of organisational and business links, partnerships and joint ventures between firms in Indian ICT clusters, particularly in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi regions and the Silicon Valley. These links are accelerating the growth of ICT software sector and at the same time transforming it in several ways. The Indian community in fact institutionalised social networks and its links with the Indian ICT clusters since the 1990s through formation of two vibrant associations such as the Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and Silicon Valley Indian Professional Association (SIPA) both head quartered in Silicon Valley, California. One significant feature of the Diaspora connectivity was in catalysing the process of venture capital policies and schemes. The booming software sector in India and the ICT infrastructure that underpinned it has attracted hundreds of professionals in recent years to establish new software firms in India. The trend in software and biotechnology sectors has been characterised more recently as ‘brain circulation’ or ‘brain gain’.

Brain Circulation in India: Case Study of Indian IT Professionals

Phases of migration and return migration of software professionals between India, the USA and Europe progressed into the phenomena of circular mobility. Given the background of Anna Lee Saxenian insights on brain circulation in India, Taiwan and China, an empirical study of 26 professionals was undertaken in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR).¹² The questionnaire method was used to interview 26 respondents.¹³ Some insights and findings from this study are summarised as follows.

Age and Years Abroad

Majority of the professionals were in the age group of 30–35 years. It was evident from this small sample and interviews that most of the professionals are young, high on energy and qualify as professionals in circulation.¹⁴ Most of the respondents said that short-term assignments are beneficial as it gives exposure in different work environments. More mobility seems to be positively associated with learning new technical knowledge and also creates avenues of knowledge sharing between different groups.

Motivational Factors

When asked about the motivation behind moving abroad and coming back, some interesting points emerged. As expected 14 out of 26 respondents said that it was their individual decision to earn money and increase their professional international profile for going abroad to work. Some indicated that work environment and experience in high end software analytics and applications in high technology led them to move out. Most of these respondents were having international experience of more than 3 to 7 years and they are keener on short-term assignments rather than long-term stay abroad. Some respondents indicated that there is a chain reaction and strong influence from the seniors in their engineering colleges who have moved out.

When asked about what motivated these professionals to come back to India, several issues were pointed out. India established a strong software sector with growing export markets the respondents felt that ample job opportunities are created with somewhat comparable salary levels in Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi NCR. This seems to have emerged as one of the main factors for the return migration of software professionals. This claim is further substantiated by the fact the almost all IT giants of the world have software development centres in India (Chacko, 2007; Khadria, 2004). Professionals are no more allured by the better job conditions abroad as there are world class facilities available in India. Thus twin conditions of job opportunities and presence of world’s leading IT firms in India, are acting as the motivation forces behind return migration. Some respondents have indicated that having earned some money over long years of stay abroad, family reasons have compelled them to return back into the country.

Benefits for Return

When asked about the gains from circular mobility, 18 out of 26 respondents said the major gain is knowledge and technical skills they learnt by working in different technical domains. Majority of the respondents agreed that due to circular mobility between different work environments, there was substantial gain in individuals skill set and technical knowledge. They also agreed on the fact that frequent movement between difeerent location leads to the sharing of knowldege and easy solution to technical problems as group discussions pave way for combination of ideas and effective solution ot the problem thus substanting the concept of ‘Brain Circulation’. Few of respondents interviewed have established business operations in Silicon Valley and back in Delhi NCR and Bangalore. Most of these professionals have resident permits in USA. When asked about the most positive and negative feeling about working in India, almost all of them expressed positive feelings. Close to family, relatives, friends, own country and independent work environment plus in own culture are the major positive feelings expressed by the respondents. Several respondents expressed satisfaction on the level of infrastructure development in Noida and Gurgaon and an increasing number of employment opportunities in IT sector.

On the negative side, almost all the respondents expressed concern in the form of monetary benefits as compared to the benefits they get abroad. Second, prevalent corruption and work culture seem to be the factors on the negative side for some respondents.

When asked about other benefits from their return migration, all of them have reported that they made contribution in the form of initiating new business process and analytics, introducing new technology, implemented quality assurance mechanisms, improved business communication, creation of simulated development environment and bringing new project or business. Most of the respondents feel that with people going abroad and coming back loaded with new skill set and technical knowledge increases technical competitiveness of native organisation thus helping in initiating new ventures by an organisation. Almost all the respondents are maintaining their contact abroad and strong informal networks seems to have emerged which are reinforced by business and work related factors. 23 out of 26 respondents expressed their desire to move abroad again for project or assignment but for short term or not more than one year. They said that if given an opportunity to move abroad for long-term assignment they will take their family along.

Concluding Remarks

Our historical perspective shows that India witnessed the phase of brain drain from 1960s to 1980s, brain gain during 1990s and since the last decade and a half, 2000–2015, witnessing the phase of brain circulation. All these phases are continuous and overlapping. What we have highlighted is the dominant phase in a phase. Investments in the education system and science and technology system as a whole resulted in the endowment of highly qualified human resources. As we approached the1960s and 1970s, skilled workforce started leaving country due to lack of opportunities. Studies by Sukhatme and Mahadevan (1987) on IIT Bombay, Ananth et al. (1989) study on IIT madras and other studies provide empirical support to substantiate that period of 1960s to 1980s was era of brain drain. India witnessed brain gain in two phases. The first phase came about immediately after independence in the 1940s and 1950s. The scientific elite under the leadership of Nehru made relentless efforts to bring back eminent Indian professionals from abroad to lead the newly created or rejuvenated science institutions. The second one came about after the liberal economic reforms in 1991. The dynamism of Indian economy during 1990s after liberalisation era offered a range of opportunities in high technology areas (ICT software, biotechnology, space research and pharmaceuticals). This attracted some highly qualified professionals back into India during 1990s and is still continuing.

In the Indian context, brain circulation is analysed at two levels. One at theoretical level in which available literature and studies are reviewed and another through primary survey conducted as part of this study. Our exploration lends credence to the view that the process of brain drain that has taken place during 1960s to 1980s begun to turn into the process of brain gain during 1990s. As the country progressed into the new twenty-first century, evidence of brain circulation has come into sharp focus. Anna Lee Saxenian (2006) has clearly shown the trend of brain circulation in India, China and other East Asian countries. Further, her study has shown that this process of brain circulation has become a powerful economic force for development of formerly peripheral regions. Scholars like Sahay (2009), Brad K. Blitz (2005) and Thanh Le (2008) maintain that innovation and inventions have no national boundaries and argue that the transition to the knowledge-based economy creates more integrated market for skills and especially for talents and highly qualified workers. The small empirical survey conducted on 26 IT professionals reveals that young Indian professionals, high on skills and in demand, are ready to move any time anywhere in the world but for short duration. They would like to keep in touch with their relevant professional world and develop links which would incentivise them and the country. India is currently spending around 1 per cent of GDP in R&D and only 5 to 6 per cent of gross expenditure of R&D goes to universities. The government has committed 2 per cent of GDP to R&D but such public policies are yet to be implemented. Unless research intensity in universities is not increased by two or three times and provide more incentives to scientists and engineers, India might again confront the problem of professional flight. Directly or indirectly these improvements in R&D spending and strengthening of research and innovation ecosystem will go a long way to curb and arrest brain drain and aid brain gain and circulation. This paper makes an attempt to show in the Indian case that brain drain, brain gain and circulation concepts are overlapping and continuous. This study opens up new vistas of research in emerging field of brain circulation studies.

Footnotes

Notes

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