When one speculates as to who is going to succeed Warren Buffet , the most successful American investor in the world, the name that pops up in the top of the list is of Ajit Jain. Though Buffet who is the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathway has not exactly disclosed who his successor would be, he has thrown ample hint that it could be the American Indian Ajit Jain, an IIT graduate from Kharagpur who is the President of Berkshire Hathway Reinsurance Division.
Jain is just one of the many Indians who have not only made a name for themselves but also added a feather in the cap of India. Like him many of the most successful immigrants in the world are from India and have made this country proud. Another man who deserves a salute is Vikram Pandit , the Indian born American executive who is the current CEO of Citigroup the world’s global bank . He is credited to making the crisis ridden Citigroup profitable during the most turbulent times.
The interesting aspect of success is that it knows no gender. Indira Nooyi is another Indian who has made this country proud. This woman who is the chairperson and CEO of Pepsico presides over 185,000 employees in nearly 200 countries.
If Indira Nooyi has made India proud by her tenacity, vision and business acumen in America, there is another woman who lives in India and is propelling India into the elite nations like the US, Russia and China with the capability to produce our own long range Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles ( ICBM).
This woman is the 48-year-old director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Tessy Thomas under whose leadership the premier organization successfully tested the new generation Agni-IV missile that broke new records for India by hitting a target 3000 km away from the Balasore test range in Orissa coast.
It is not just the individuals Indians who have made a difference, but the country as a whole. India has entered the club of top 20 exporters of goods and reclaimed its position among top 10 services exporters in 2010. Those who are were once fascinated by the glamour of USA and Europe are now realizing that the economy of India is much better than these countries.
At a time when the world economy is tottering, the whole Euro zone is in a state of panic and the US economy is spiraling down, the Indian economy is relatively in a better shape. Going by the data released by India’s Economic Advisory Council for the year 2011-12, the economy is expected to develop at 8.2 per cent in 2011-12. The expected growth rate may not be anything to boast about but considering the current world situation, it is certainly a matter of consolation.
One of the reason why India is relatively in a better position is because the percentage of India’s exports in global trade is meager. India’s trade with USA and Europe is 15 per cent and 24 per cent respectively and hence India is not affected that much. Thankfully we were also spared of the subprime crisis which hit US badly because their banks in order to achieve their targets started giving loans indiscriminately to those who did not have repaying capacity.
It is no wonder that thousands of young Indians who have studied overseas are heading back to their homeland, lured by the improved living standards. In2010 nearly 60,000 Indians from US returned to India. Hopefully the figure will keep increasing in the years to come.
Those who at times get disheartened by the slow pace of Indian bureaucracy and political corruption should remember that if one looks from the global perspective, the situation here is much brighter. The phenomena of brain drain will sooner or later going to change into brain gain.
