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Passions Fuelling Interests: A Portfolio Approach to Diaspora-Home Country Projects

Submitted by Yevgeny Kuznetsov on Fri, 02/25/2011 - 10:01
Photo:Istockphoto.com

For 20 years, BP Agrawal led research and development at such companies as General Dynamics, ITT, GTE, and Hughes, helping take new technologies from lab to marketplace. US-based Agrawal and his diaspora peer had a number of discussions on how they can make an impact in home country (India), and concluded that it is not their financial contributions that would make a difference but rather new commercial models of public service provision. In 2006, he won Development Marketplace awards for River from the Sky, a system of community water provision in draught-stricken areas and in 2007 for, Clinics for Mass Care, a system of mobile, kiosk-based clinics.

Recognition of the poor as a major market opportunity has produced bottom-of-the-pyramid innovation, the hallmark of which is global search for home-grown solutions. Diaspora members are natural vehicles for both global search and diffusion in the local context. In reality, diffusion is all that matters. Thanks to Agrawal’ patience, perseverance and persistence, he was able to enter into partnership with a local government which significantly speeded up the diffusion.  

What are the consequences of the best and brightest emigrating?

Submitted by David McKenzie on Mon, 08/16/2010 - 14:03

The very name “brain drain” suggests that high-skilled migration can be nothing but bad for developing countries. Indeed, the prospect of a harmful effect of brain drain is often one of the first concerns raised in policy discussions around migration, and every day the news is filled with statements such as “the Philippines is suffering a crippling brain drain”, “brain drain still a big concern” in India;  and that Bangladesh “must stop brain drain to take the country forward”.

However, recently there has been a surge of more optimistic views of highly skilled migration, ranging from theories of “brain gain” in which the prospect of migration in the future induces people (including those who end up not migrating) to get more education; the idea of “brain circulation”, in which migrants are meant to do wonders for their home countries once they return with knowledge and ideas from abroad; and the “create-your-own Silicon Valley” view of diaspora as a source of trade, investment funds, and inspiration.

Almost a third of Indians, or over 300 million people, are migrants

Submitted by Sanket Mohapatra on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 20:03
  Photo © Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank

India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has just released the “Migration in India 2007-08” report (June 2010) based on the 64th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). This nationally representative survey includes 125,578 households (79,091 households in rural areas and 46,487 households in urban areas) which together have 572,254 individuals. The report has many interesting findings on internal and international migration and remittances in India, which you can read in the press release. I have highlighted a few that I found interesting:

Almost a third of Indians, or over 300 million people, are migrants. 28.5 percent of Indians (some 325 million people, out of a population of 1.14 billion in 2008) are migrants, according to the survey. 35 percent of people in urban areas and 26 percent of people in rural areas have moved from their place of usual residence.However, migration in India is largely confined to within the same state. 72 percent of migrant households in urban areas and 78 percent in rural areas have migrated within the same state.

India received $50.6 bn in private transfers in 2009

Submitted by Sanket Mohapatra on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 17:02

The latest March 31 balance of payments data from India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), shows that India received $50.6 billion in private transfers in the 2009 calendar year.  This represents a modest decline (-1.4 percent) compared to private transfer receipts for the 2008 calendar year.

Perhaps more importantly, the data on private transfers - which comprise mostly remittances from Indian migrants - shows that remittance flows to India declined sharply in the first quarter of 2009, but then have picked up in the remaining quarters, with a clear upward trend in the fourth quarter of 2009. Whether this recovery will continue into 2010 is still an open question. Look out for our forthcoming Migration and Development Brief for some answers!      

The Economic Times erroneously reported last week that inward private transfers to India reached $55 billion in 2009. The correct figure is $50.6 billion.

 

Protecting real estate investments of Indian migrants

Submitted by Sanket Mohapatra on Sun, 03/07/2010 - 21:01
  Photo © iStockphoto.com

In the last few years, many Indian migrants (non-resident Indians or NRIs) have experienced strangers and even relatives taking over their land, tenants refusing to vacate their apartments, and sometimes being cheated by real estate developers. Complex and long judicial procedures have not helped matters. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, which has been flooded with complaints, organized a session on this issue at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, an annual meeting of NRIs in New Delhi this January (see session description and story). India’s buoyant real estate market prior to the current financial crisis appears to have contributed to this phenomenon (see story).  

The extent of these problems in the Indian state of Punjab and effective advocacy by NRI Punjabi migrant associations led Punjab’s government to designate certain police stations for NRIs in six districts, set up special revenue counts, and more recently, to create a State Commission, to speed up the resolution of their land and property disputes. Punjab’s Rent Act has been amended to make it easier for NRIs to evict tenants. India’s central government has asked states to appoint nodal officers for civil, judicial and police matters to respond to similar complaints. Although the effectiveness of these measures remains to be seen, these steps are a welcome recognition of the contribution that India’s emigrants make to its economy.

Home Again

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 17:20

   Photo © Dilip Ratha/ World Bank

I was in Sindhekela (India) last August. "Home again," as Jason DeParle put it after our last trip to Sindhekela together. It was hot and humid. There were more mosquitoes than I have ever seen. But with the monsoon came a season of festivity. For the first time in decades I was home for Ganesh Puja and Nuakhai.

Ganesh Puja offers homage to the Hindu God of wisdom, so wise that He has the head of an elephant. When I visited my school, I noticed that unlike other years, the students did not install the statue of Ganesh inside a classroom. A few days earlier, an old beam supporting the roof had come crashing down while a class was in progress. Miraculously no one was hurt - thanks to Lord Ganesh! But they did not take another chance, and installed the statue on the veranda. 

India is the top recipient of remittances

Submitted by Dilip Ratha on Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:32

With Sanket

Newly available data show that remittance flows to developing countries reached $328 billion in 2008. In India, flows were stronger than expected in 2008 reaching $52 billion, up 34% compared to a year ago, and higher than our earlier estimate of $45 billion. India retains its position as the top recipient of migrant remittances among developing countries, followed by China, Mexico and the Philippines (figure 1).

Figure 1. India was the top recipient of migrant remittances among developing countries in 2008