Can Modi Harness India’s High-Tech Diaspora?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to use his recent trip to the United States as a platform for encouraging Indian diaspora communities to foster closer economic ties with their home country. With more than 28.5 million Indians living overseas, 4.5 million in the United States alone, the Indian government is trying to make it easier for migrants to send remittances home by treating such investments as uncapped domestic investments rather than capped foreign direct investments. The Modi administration recognizes that the diaspora’s potential contributions to India’s high tech and energy sectors may prove to be even more beneficial to India’s economy than remittances. In particular, Modi wants Indians in the Silicon Valley to champion initiatives like Digital India, which seeks to modernize India’s digital infrastructure and promote entrepreneurship, and India-US Startup Konnect, an effort to incubate Indian startups by connecting them with Silicon Valley firms. Subramanya concludes with a note of caution: The ambitious policy is contingent upon his ability to achieve much-needed economic reforms, as “India’s lack of economic good sense for decades is what drove this diaspora away in the first place.” – YaleGlobal