India's expat attraction

On a balmy Saturday morning in Mumbai, Peter and Jane Akers are at their Hindi teacher's home for their weekly lessons in the Indian language. Read original article.

Expatriates are looking to India for opportunities

It's not easy. The language is full of complex grammar constructions and is written in a completely different script from English.

But Peter is doing his best to learn Hindi for his job in India. It may not be crucial to learn the language, he says, but it certainly helps to break the ice - and Indians are always pleasantly surprised to see that he can write his name in Hindi.

For four months now, the Londoner has been working in Mumbai for an insurance company. He and his wife do miss home - especially their two adult children who are working in London - but they chose to move to Mumbai because of the opportunities here.

"When I compare the work that I'm doing to the work that my former colleagues are doing back in the UK, I realise that's the reason I'm here," Peter says, as his wife Jane continues her lesson.

"They're doing work that involves them looking at regulations, policies - all the things that happened in the past.

"What we're doing here is difficult and not without its stresses, but it's all about growth."

Top of the list?

It is that economic growth - which now is closing in on double figures - which is bringing so many more expatriates to Indian shores.

Not so long ago, India would never have figured on the average aspiring expat's list of favoured destinations.

Now, though, by some accounts the number of expatriate managers hired by Indian firms has risen by 5-15% in recent years.

Is India's diaspora going into reverse?

Part of the reason may be the way that as growth has soared, so have the salaries available to executives.

Jeff Fuller, who works with Mercer Consulting in Mumbai and is an expert on hiring trends in Asia, points to the new industries opening up - retail, telecommunications, insurance, to name just a few.

"You need talent to fill up the top levels and managerial positions," he says. "What we've found is that on the whole salaries in India, Vietnam, those types of places are still not on the same levels as they are in the UK or US.

"But at the executive level it's a very different story. The executive pay packets for global staff - expatriate staff - are very competitive in India, and are in fact on par with global payscales."

Comeback

For many among the millions of people of Indian extraction around the world, these pay trends present a tempting chance to rediscover their roots.

Yusuf Hatia moved out to Mumbai from London last year with his family. Reconnecting with his historical links was initially enough to move him out here - but the soaring salaries helped too.

A public relations specialist, he is finding that the relative youth of his business in India means there is an urgent need for outside experience to train staff.

"And it's really exciting times here - there's so much going on in the corporate world that there's a demand for good PR," he says.

"It's mutually beneficial - the local staff gets the training, and the expatriates get the India experience.

Impact

For Peter and Jane, the Indian experience is heightened by heading out for some culture at the end of a long working week.

Bollywood is just one fringe benefit for expats

Living in a foreign country means getting to know its culture.

Along with their Hindi teacher and fellow expatriates, they've decided to spend their Friday night out at an Indian cinema, watching an Indian film.

Bollywood movies are always eye-catching - full of colour, drama, singing and dancing - but have rarely made much of an impact among audiences outside South Asia and its diaspora.

If current trends continue, though, more and more Westerners like Peter and Jane will be getting to know them.