Centre urging Indians abroad to return under capacity building push: Top official

Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Dr P K Mishra, on Saturday said under its Capacity Building Commission, the Centre had been encouraging Indians working abroad to return to the country.

Mishra was in Mumbai to attend the convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Management Mumbai (IIM Mumbai, formerly NITIE).

On the sidelines of the event, when reporters asked him whether the government was telling Indians working overseas to return to the country, he said, "We have been encouraging them and also it is part of our Capacity Building Commission."

His statement comes in the wake of the US government's massive hike in H-1B visa fees.

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation, 'Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers', to raise the H-1B visa fee to a staggering USD 100,000 annually, a move which will adversely affect Indian professionals in his country.

The H-1B visas, which are very popular among Indian tech professionals, are valid for three years and can be renewed for another three years. Trump's decision will significantly affect Indian technology professionals who are hired by tech companies and others on H-1B visas.

In his address to the students, Mishra said it is the individual's approach and attitude, as well as human resource and capability that shape the future accomplishments.

"I would like to focus on two important aspects which will shape your future accomplishments. Your future, all your knowledge, all what you have learned will certainly help, but more importantly, it will shape your achievements. Number one, an individual's approach and attitude and the other is human resource and capability," he said.

Most of the research development that is witnessed in developed countries is due to more focus on human resource and capability, he added.

In this endeavour, the students will play a very critical role in ensuring that India becomes a developed country by 2047, Mishra said.

Although India has become a global innovation powerhouse, it still faces an innovation gap and in order to address this the government has earmarked a fund, according to him.

"India has become a global innovation powerhouse with over 100 unicorns and 1.9 lakh startups...Today, we have a thriving startup ecosystem, however, there are still innovation gaps. The government has recognised the gap and rolled out various initiatives to overcome these hurdles," he added.

Focusing on human resource development, he emphasized that technical skill alone is not sufficient.

According to him, attitude, teamwork, openness, mutual respect, humility, ethics, transparency and objectivity were important.

"Team work is probably much more important than individual brilliance," he said.

IIM Mumbai's Chairman of Board of Governors Shashi Kiran Shetty, who is also the Chairman of Allcargo Group, stressed the need for a "very strong policy" on special economic zones for India to leapfrog into manufacturing.

"With a strong policy, you will have so many companies that will come and set up manufacturing in the country, which will create employment and improve technology," he added.

Ship owning and ship building is also very critical for national security and national growth, said Shetty.

"Today, over 90 per cent of our foreign trade is done by foreign carriers. Whether it is containers, whether it is bulk cargo. We have 10 or 15 Navratnas who can buy ships. So Indian companies, whichever sector they are, they don't have to run the ship, they can give a global tender for best ship managers, who can come and open their office in India, and they can employ Indian people," he added.

- Ends