View: Returnee entrepreneurs are reshaping India’s future, but barriers must be removed to reap rewards
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By failing to retain the best and brightest — especially from India — the US has triggered a reverse brain drain that is transforming India into a global innovation powerhouse, while eroding America's leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship. This transformation is exemplified by Indian entrepreneurs who returned from abroad to build billion-dollar companies. Sachin and Binny Bansal, former Amazon employees, co-founded Flipkart. Bhavish Aggarwal, after working at Microsoft, created Ola, which has since expanded into EVs, AI and RE. Naveen Tewari, a Harvard Business School graduate, launched InMobi, a pioneering mobile advertising platform.
It is more than America. Deepinder Goyal, after working at Bain & Company in Singapore, founded Zomato. These returnees didn't just build companies. They also created ecosystems, driving innovation, generating jobs and redefining India's role in the global economy.
In 2009, along with Berkeley's AnnaLee Saxenian, Harvard's Richard Freeman, and Duke University's Gary Gereffi and Alex Salkever, I co-authored 'America's Loss is the World's Gain'. This study revealed how restrictive visa policies and limited professional opportunities were driving Indian and Chinese professionals back to their home countries.
In 2011, in the study 'The Grass is Indeed Greener in India and China for
