Despite the controversy surrounding Indian nationals and the U.S. H-1B visa program, a recent survey of Indian high-tech graduates revealed that the vast majority would rather remain in India than relocate to the United States or other foreign countries to pursue career opportunities.

The survey of 677 graduates of Indian Institutes of Technology showed a significant drop in the percentage of Indian citizens who opted to leave the country for higher education or work reasons. Evalueserve, the research and analytics firm that conducted the survey, says among those high-tech workers that graduated between 1964 and 2001, 35% moved to countries other than India. Among those graduating in 2002 and 2007, 84% remained in India and 16% decided to pursue interests elsewhere.

The research also showed that fewer Indian graduates believe other countries such as the United States would provide more opportunities than their nation of origin. Sixty percent of those graduating between 1964 and 2001 said they thought the United States and other developed countries provided better education and career opportunities. That number dropped among more recent graduates to 51% believing they would have a better chance landing a job if located outside of India.

The research shows that Indians believe they can succeed best in their own country, according to Alok Aggarwal, chairman and founder of Evalueserve and previously with IBM's Thomas Watson Research Center (during which time he helped to build IBM's Research Laboratory at IIT Delhi).

"Most strikingly, when asked, '10 years down the line, which geography do you think will hold the most promise for success?' 72% chose India, [with] only 17% opting for the U.S, 5% for Europe and 2% for China," the report reads.

Specifically regarding the United States, 30% of Indian workers who graduated between 1964 and 2001 moved to the United States, while 12% of those who graduated between 2002 and 2007 did the same. The research shows more of the latter graduates did want to move to the United States but didn't for reasons ranging from stringent visa norms post Sept. 11, high cost of living, limited scholarships and the perception of a poorer life in the United States.

For 70% of those graduating prior to 2002, the United States represents better academic opportunities; 63% of those graduating in 2002 and beyond believe the same. But the perception of more work in the United States has changed. Seventeen percent of respondents who graduated between 1964 and 2001 perceived there were limited job opportunities in the United States, compared with 28% of those graduating between 2002 and 2007 who believe the prospect of work overseas was limited.

Whitepapers

• Gene Kim's Practical Steps to Mitigate Virtualization Security Risks
• Monitoring and Managing App Performance
• Monitoring and Managing VoIP
• SNMP Monitoring: One Critical Component to Network Management
• SNMP Monitoring: One Critical Component to Network Management
• A Modern Approach to On-Demand Email and Data Security

View more NETWORK MANAGEMENT whitepapers

Webcasts

• Key Considerations for a Successful 802.11n Deployment
• Best Practices for Deploying WAN Optimization for Disaster Recovery
• Tips and Techniques for Remote Data Backup and Delivery
• WAN Optimization Landscape
• Lowering the Cost of Email Archives
• The High-Touch Remote Helpdesk: Centralized Support for the Decentralized Organization

View more NETWORK MANAGEMENT webcasts

Special Reports

• Network World Executive GUide: The Virtualization Equation
• Application Performance Management Executive Guide
• Executive Guide: Building a Service Oriented Architecture
• Optimizing Your Network Management Strategy for Today's Economy
• Get More From Your WAN
• Executive Guide: Storage Heats Up

View more NETWORK MANAGEMENT special reports