As economic growth spreads to the length and breadth of this country, we are beginning to see this trend within the country.
This tendency to move closer home to work has at least partially driven the great Indian IT story. India has immensely benefited from this reverse brain drain.
My friend, Head of IT in a mid-sized services company in Mumbai, called me to find out if I know of any opportunity in Bhubaneswar for him. Both of us hail from Odisha and he had assumed that my connection with the enterprise IT community and my continuous engagement with the cultural affairs in Odisha would make me aware of such opportunities.
I couldn’t help him much as I didn’t know of any company that could potentially employ him, let alone having a vacancy. But I couldn’t resist asking him why he was looking at moving to Odisha when he was doing quite well in his career. His reply was the same as what thousands of other Indians would give: he wanted to be close to home, especially with his parents not keeping well. After all, this tendency to move closer home to work has at least partially driven the great Indian IT story. India has immensely benefited from this reverse brain drain.
As economic growth spreads to the length and breadth of this country, we are beginning to see this trend within the country.
Why should CIOs be an exception?
While my friend wasn’t so lucky – last heard he was contemplating joining a top engineering college as a faculty- those coming from comparatively more developed regions are already doing that.
Take the case of Ashok Jade, Global CIO, Kirloskar Brothers. Originally from Maharashtra, he spent close to one and half decades in the National Capital Region for career reasons. With his son’s schooling completed, he decided to move closer home to Pune.
The same is the case with Atanu Pramanic, COO and VP-IT with RPSG Ventures Ltd at Kolkata. A very respected and senior CIO (recipient of the CIO&Leader Samman), Atanu hails from Kolkata. After spending more than two decades outside, he took up his present assignment last year, despite getting multiple offers in other cities.
Another Pune-based CIO who hails from Lucknow also was looking for an opportunity near home had to be content with a position in Delhi. My friend had to change his career while this CIO had to choose a nearby (and not so nearby) city.
What does this mean?
- Today, cities like Bhubaneswar and Lucknow may not provide those opportunities but as India grows, those will be available.
- Those looking for experienced CIOs in cities other than the top three cities should keep this in mind.
Image source: Freepik