1. Human Resources in Science and Technology in India and the International Mobility of Highly Skilled Indians. OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, 2004/7
- Author
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and Khadria, Binod
- Abstract
This paper provides estimates of the stocks and flows of human resources in science and technology (HRST) in India, and their breakdown by education and occupation. Furthermore, the paper provides estimates of the number of highly skilled people moving to India and out of India during the 1990s, mainly to the United States. This part of the study also includes a brief, critical overview of Indian concerns on policy matters pertaining to various forms of migration of highly skilled professionals. Regarding the stocks of highly skilled people in India, the paper estimates that in 1991, between 13 and 16 million people in India could be classified as HRST because of their qualification, a number which had grown to approximately 25 million in 2000. When expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15-64, this meant an increase of more than one percentage point, from between 2.5% and 3% in 1991 to just over 4% in 2000. In 1991, 10.2 million people could be categorised as HRST because of their occupation. Scientists and engineers, considered to be the core group of the HRST by occupation, accounted for less than 14% of this total. The number of core HRST, the people that are considered HRST both because of their education and their qualification, amounted to 2.6 million workers in 1991. Recent census data that would allow an update for the year 2001 have not been processed yet, but this is expected before the end of 2004. One of the indicators of international mobility is provided by the number of Indian students entering the United States during the 1990s. The paper shows that this number has gone up considerably, from around 15 000 Indian students in 1990 to almost 50 000 in 2001. That the United States is the most favoured destination is proven by the fact that almost 80% of the Indian students who enrolled in tertiary education in OECD countries in 2001 went to the United States. Another indicator that proves the attractiveness of the United States shows that in 1999, there were 165 000 Indian residents in the United States with a science and engineering (S&E) highest degree. They accounted for 13% of the total number of foreign-born US residents with S&E highest degrees, which was more than any other country. India also accounted for a high share of foreign-born residents residing in the United States in 1999 with a science and engineering doctorate, 16% or 30 000 people, second only to China. Moreover, Indians comprised almost 7% of the total number of people granted entry as permanent residents in the United States in 2001. In the important HRST category of professional and technical occupations, this proportion reached almost 24% of the world total. This study was done by an Indian consultant for the OECD, as part of the programme of work of the OECD Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members (CCNM) and the Economic Analysis and Statistics Division (EAS) of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry (DSTI). The OECD wishes to thank the National Science Foundation (United States) for its generous support which has facilitated this work and the work on HRST in general. (Contains 16 footnotes, 10 figures, 2 boxes, 21 tables, and a bibliography.)
- Published
- 2004
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