GS Paper 2
Syllabus: International Relations –Indian Diaspora
Source: Business Standard
Context: In times when it is difficult for an immigrant to succeed, we notice the remarkable presence of Indians in the leadership of global organizations: IBM, Google, Microsoft, and now the World Bank.
| Area | Contribution | Examples |
| Technology | Played a crucial role in the development of Silicon Valley | Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft |
| Medicine | Leading medical practitioners, researchers, and academics | Dr Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author |
| Entrepreneurship | Founders of successful startups and businesses | Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo |
| Arts | Achieved global recognition for their creative works | Mira Nair, film director, Ravi Shankar, musician, Padma Lakshmi, model, actress and author |
| Literature | Award-winning authors, poets, and academics | Salman Rushdie, Booker Prize-winning author, Jhumpa Lahiri, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Amitav Ghosh, literary critic and novelist |
| Politics | Elected officials and influential policymakers | Rishi Sunak (UK Prime Minister), Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States, Nikki Haley, former Governor of South Carolina, Ami Bera, Congressman from California |
Reasons behind this:
- Education: Indians place a strong emphasis on education, and many Indian leaders have received top-notch education from prestigious institutions around the world
- Diversity: This diversity has helped Indian leaders develop a broad perspective and a deep understanding of global issues.
- Work Ethic
- Networking: Indians have a strong network both within and outside the country,
- Multilingual: Many Indians are multilingual, which has helped them communicate effectively with people from different countries and cultures.
Implications of its people having top leadership positions in global organizations for India:
- Increased Global Influence
- Reduce asymmetric informationand thus improve global engagement with India.
- Improved Reputation
- Economic Benefits
- Access to Information
- Capacity Building
- National Pride
Insta Link:
Mains Link: UPSC 2017
Indian Diaspora has an important role to play in South East Asian countries’ economies and societies. Appraise the role of the Indian Diaspora in South-East Asia in this context.
