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Latest visa fee hikes in the America, including a substantial hike to H-1B visa fees, have motivated the Indian policymakers to actively encourage skilled professionals to return and participate in nation-building.

A high-ranking advisor associated with the PM mentioned that the regime is prioritizing attracting NRIs. Additionally, a different expert noted that H-1B visas have historically served the host country, and the new fee increase could potentially support India in attracting global talent.

The core idea is that the moment is right for India to orchestrate a talent repatriation and bring back highly skilled experts in software, medicine, and various advanced sectors who departed the homeland over the last three decades.

Preliminary indicators suggest that a more restrictive immigration climate in the United States is prompting some expatriates to evaluate coming back. However, specialists caution that motivating many individuals to depart American hubs for Bengaluru will be difficult.

Nithin Hassan is among the small group of expatriates who, after two decades in the United States, took a leap of faith and moved to a tech hub last year.

The move proved challenging. He left a million-dollar job at a leading firm to plunge into the uncertain arena of start-ups.

"I frequently desired to start my own business, but my immigration status in the America restricted that freedom," he mentioned.

After his return, he's founded multiple businesses, including a platform titled Back to India that helps other expatriates living in the United States "manage the personal, economic, and professional challenges of relocating to India."

He noted that current adjustments in US entry regulations have led to a noticeable spike in queries from people looking to move, and the visa fracas could hasten this movement.

"Many professionals now understand that a permanent residency may never come, and inquiries to our service have surged – almost increasing threefold after policy updates commenced. In just the recent period, more than a couple of hundred NRIs have reached out to explore relocation possibilities," he commented.

Other recruiters who work with students from institutions abroad confirm this change in sentiment.

"The count of Indian students from prestigious colleges wanting to relocate to India after their degrees has risen by 30% recently," a headhunter explained.

She added that the uncertainty is also leading experienced professionals "evaluate their long-term careers in the America."

"While a lot are still settled there, we observe a clear increase in CXO and top professionals evaluating India as a serious choice," she added.

The change in attitudes could further supported by a massive boom in Global Capability Centres – also known as remote centers of global firms in India – that have opened up attractive career options for expatriates.

The remote centers could become destinations for those from the IT sector in case the US closes its doors, making GCCs "more appealing to professionals, especially as US-based roles diminish," according to an investment company.

But facilitating reverse migration on a large level will need a focused and substantial campaign by the leadership, and such efforts are absent, explains a previous media adviser to a past prime minister and author on India's brain drain.

"The government will have to go out and truly select experts – featuring elite academics, professionals, and innovators – it wants back. That requires work, and it needs to receive high-level support," he emphasized.

He noted that this strategy was employed by India's first prime minister in the earlier days to recruit leading experts in areas like science and atomic energy and establish organizations like the renowned IISc.

"The returnees were motivated by a deep mission. Is there the reason to return now?" he questioned.

Conversely, there are multiple attractive and repelling elements that have caused educated professionals repeatedly leaving the nation, he said, and India has applauded this movement, instead of stopping it.

Overseas incentives comprise a rising range of nations granting citizenship schemes and citizenship or residency through immigration programmes.

Actually, while the US tightened its work permit rules, countries {such as