The migration of health professionals for better opportunities, both within countries and across international borders, is of growing concern worldwide because of its impact on health systems in developing countries. And now, in a seemingly reversed case of brain drain, the Indian government has announced that over 350 Indian scientists gave up jobs in reputed foreign institutions between 2014 and 2016 to return to work for domestic establishments according to latest statistics.
As reported by Y S Chowdary, Minister of State in the Science and Technology Ministry, of 373 scientists who have returned to India under different programmes, 125 have been absorbed in different institutions.
And under the Ramanujan Fellowship scheme, 123 scientists returned to India between 2014 and 2016, of whom 52 have been absorbed. The Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship, under the ageis of the Department of Biotechnology, seeks Indian scientists to work in the field of biotechnology.
The fellowship is meant for “brilliant scientists and engineers” from all over the world to take up scientific research positions in India.
Under the Ramalingaswami re-entry fellowship, 109 scientists have returned home and 55 have been absorbed while under the Inspire Programme, 141 scientists have chosen to come back home with 18 being
absorbed.This scheme is exclusively for overseas scientists and academicians with emphasis on Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origion (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).
The scheme facilitates scientists to work for a specific period of time in Indian public-funded academic and research institutions, in order to curb the rate of brain drain and attract Indian talent back to their homeland.
