Indians
constitute the epicenter of the Silicon Valley revolution. This means that
India have moved from being a job-seeking economy to one that is being
driven by demand in developed nations for services and migrant workers from
developing countries. There are believed to be some 20 million ethnic
Indians overseas, a diaspora that produces an estimated US$300 billion in
purchasing power.
About Indian Workers Abroad
Indians, along with other immigrant groups, make up 43 per cent of the New
York City workforce. Foreign-born Indians are at the high end of the
educational spectrum as also that for income distribution. The average
number of workers per Indian household is 1.5 and the median Indian
household income is $50,000.
A report on the New York City immigrant profile, released by the department
of city planning, states that 41 per cent of working Indian males are in
professional and managerial positions. Out of this, around 8 per cent are in
the service sector, about 26 per cent in sales and office work, 6 per cent
in construction, extraction and maintenance, and about 19 per cent in
production, transportation and material moving. 58 per cent of working
Indian females are in professional or managerial positions. Out of this, 32
per cent are involved in sales and office work.
Indians: A saga of success in AmericaThe money-power of the Indi-community speaks for itself. According to the
US Census Bureau the Indian median family annual income stands at $60,000 as
against the national average of $38,885 and the estimated annual buying
power of Indians working abroad stands at $20 billion.
More than 300,000 Indians worked in technology firms in California's
Silicon Valley, with their average income estimated at $125,000 a year.
About one-third of the engineers in Silicon Valley are of Indian descent,
while over 7 percent of valley's high-tech firms are led by Indian CEOs.
Indias Global Community
The Gulf
Indian diaspora: 3.5 million | Afghanistan
Indian diaspora: 45,000 |
Singapore
Indian diaspora: 90,000 | South Africa
Indian diaspora: 1.2 million |
Burma
Indian diaspora: 2.9 million | United Kingdom
Indian diaspora: 942,000 |
Malaysia
Indian diaspora: 1.6 million | United Kingdom
Indian diaspora: 942,000 |
Caribbean Indian diaspora: 950,000
Some Indians were sent to the Caribbean in colonial times to work on sugar
plantations. Today the community is fully integrated and has significant
commercial and political influence.
Mauritius Indian diaspora: 700,000
The country is almost entirely populated by People of Indian Origin.
Canada
Indian diaspora : 150,000
There has been an influx of investors and professionals as Canada eased its
immigration laws. The biggest community is in and around Vancouver and
Toronto and largely consists of white collar and professional workers.
All over the world, the idea of India and the image of Indians is being rethought. We aren't just a country that provides cheap labour anymore;
we're also a country of highly-educated, skilled professionals.
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