Sunday, March 18, 2007

Relocating to India? Challenges that a NRI has to face

Ishani Duttagupta of Economic Times has filed in a very interesting article on the challenges that an NRI faces on relocating to India.

It is a must read for any serious aspirant-for it covers a lot of issues- cultural, economical and logistical -that one so easily glosses over while just concentrating on getting the right job or the best school for one's child.

Even after making up their minds (of returning to India -the when, why, how etc!), living and working in India is no cakewalk. It poses diverse challenges that require a degree of adjustment and realignment, which NRIs often under estimate. For example,

- avoiding double taxing and clubbing of income.

-planning for distribution of wealth & property among family members who are likely to stay back.
-buying a house in the secondary market as most of them demand black/ white money combination for payment. Ironically houses where one can get first allocation, and white money, will be completed only after two years.

- re-establishing relationships and networks from scratch;


It is an effort that had Ishani reaching out to professionals across different walks of life..VCs, returned Indians in senior management positions, a partner for a Big 4 firm, search consultants, brand marketing gurus,...among others she has been in touch as she covers the 'global Indian'!!

PS-Personally I relate to this article better as there quotes from Mr Raj Desai -(he had mentored me at a TiE summit in Delhi in 2005) and yours truly :-)!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was great to see your blog listed for the keyword 'global talent' at blogsearch.sg ... I found your article about global talent quite interesting among the many more posts that are listed at blogsearch.sg

Anonymous said...

I find it little disappointing that you have not responded to my phone calls or emails in spite of blogging about returning NRIs. Please check for my email me on March 15th last from gmail.com (wash dc, referred by Shantaram)

AK Menon said...

Hi Srikanth

I must thank you for your innumerable attempts to reach me on phone, email and the comment on my blog.

I can very well appreciate your disappointment. Infact I was with Shantaram for the last 3 days..in Mumbai together for an annual convention of the ERA and did tell him- that it was indeed ironical that we have seemed to get into a tangle with each other-possibly even rubbing each other the wrong way :-)!

Let me explain the things from my perspective-so that you understand me better.

-I get over a 100 enquiries a month from people like you desirous of returning. Ideally I wd need to spend 30-40 minutes on the phonecall to have some insights -beyond the resume. So typically, I try to space out these calls based on the urgency, the seriousness (at times, some are just window shopping, you see!) -and often driven by the value I can add to the person.

-Typically I send out a list of questions that would help me assess the above, and then depending on the response, we fix a mutually convenient time to explore how best we can work together! As a contingent search consultant, I am paid by the corporate only for succesful assignments closed-and so, for obvious reasons, I am driven by my deadlines by my clients urgency to close positions. So, I try to take 1-2 international calls each day.

-Coming to your specific case, I must say your letter to Shantaram was very concise. You articulated well a lot of information-related to your plans, date of return, kind of role desired, salary, companies reached to..etc..and so I could very well appreciate that you have done a lot of work-and what I would need to do-is just complement the search for the right job.

- I also appreciate your reply to my referring a client-but I must hasten to admit, you probably didnt think it was important enough to react to the queries I raised -in terms of understanding you a little better. Moreover, you may realise you typically called each time..in the 'peak hours' 930 to 11am..typically the time I am probably in meetings each day. And a couple of times on a holiday/weekend.

- So while you were disappointed with my lack of response, I was -I confess, put off by your insensitivity!! And since anyway you seem to be an extremely organised person, and in a hurry, and quick to reprimand me :-)!, I really didnt think we cd get to far...together.

-But your comment on my blog...almost 10days after our last interaction, did give me a ray of hope - and hence this long explanation!!

Do let me know if I can still be of help..and we shall certainly try and connect with each other -in the next 48hrs. preferably- between 6pm and 10pm IST -with a prior intimation!

Have a great week ahead.

Do hope to meet up with you-once you are in Hyderabad.

Achyut

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Menon,

i am looking forward to relocating to india. My ctrrently hold a OCI card and am a us citizen. My wife and son are also the same.

Request to guide me through,

c.patel

prerna said...

Thankyou for giving such a nice blog.I am an NRI living in united states.I have only completed 7 months here..i am 20.I want to go back to india for my studies as i am not liking here the system of education..i have only done my high school till now from india and iam so disappointed of taking my decision to come here..Do you think it is easy for me to go back to india and do my studies again? Thanks

Amarjeet Verma said...

Moving process is not easy at international level. It's better to take help of experts who provides relocation services. It is necessary to get familiar with the place you are going to shift.