Brain ‘drain’ turning to ‘gain’, India Inc should step up: HUL Chairman, ETCFO

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Hindustan Unilever (HUL) chairman Nitin Paranjpe said the country needs to ensure that the best talent does not end up leaving the nation even as it equips the current working age population with employable skills that will provide an added boost to the India growth story.

“We are slowly witnessing a rising trend of reverse brain-drain or ‘brain-gain’, evident in the increasing number of skilled professionals returning to India. This is catalysed by a growing entrepreneurial landscape in the country, geopolitical realignment and a growing digital ecosystem,” he said during the company’s 91st annual general meeting.

In 2022, the number of Indian students leaving the country for higher education hit a six-year high of about 770,000. A 2023 report by IT industry body Nasscom estimated that about 25% of Indian startups were founded by returning Indian-origin professionals, bringing back crucial expertise and investment.

The country’s biggest consumer goods company said the government alone cannot address the challenges that India faces in developing its human capital.

“Corporates will need to play a key role – be it in ensuring reskilling and upskilling the workforce populace, creating employment, embracing diversity or supporting human development,” said Paranjpe. “A close public-private partnership can change the entire ecosystem by uplifting the skills and capabilities of the nation, on a scale that is required for our growth ambition. To truly create a significant difference, we need India Inc to join hands with the government.”

India has set itself an ambition to become a middle-income country, expand its economy to $10 trillion and grab the slot of the third largest economy by 2030. HUL said it is an ambitious plan which will require the nation to step up its growth rate from a historical average of about 7% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past decade to more than 8%.

“We have been one of the fastest growing large economies in the world over the last decade, a growth rate well ahead of the largest economies – the US and UK at 2%, Japan at 1% and almost on a par with China (~7%). Second, investments made over the last decade have created the foundation of what is already amongst the best digital public infrastructure in the world, driving financial inclusion and stimulating economic growth,” Paranjpe said.