CHENNAI, INDIA, January 25, 2016 (B. Shivkumar, TNN): In the five-year period from 2010 to 2015, India displaced Russia as the country with the largest diaspora in the world, as per UN data on migrants for 2015. While the UAE, with its job opportunities for all sections of people, tops as the preferred destination for India-born migrants, the US, that lets in only highly qualified professional Indians, is today home to nearly two million people born in India. Australia comes high up on the list with four hundred thousand Indians. Between 1990 and 2010, Russia was topping the list of migrants but its diaspora was concentrated in a few countries like Israel.
Paradoxically enough, the spike in Indian migration happened after the country’s economy moved into a high-growth path. Today, a total of 15.6 million people born in India are living across all continents. The rate of migration to foreign countries has increased by half compared to 10 years ago. Observers see Indian migration as helping world economies. “Indian migrants to the US have been a great asset for the world. Their contribution to development of information technology has been useful to various sections. Similarly in Gulf countries, many Indians are in the managerial cadre and their contribution has been immensely appreciated,” former diplomat G Parthasarathi told TOI. Indians working as construction laborers are also most sought after by companies in the Gulf. “Indian laborers are highly disciplined.