April 04, 2026
In his Hindustan Times column, Vital Signs, OHT’s Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan highlights that India’s greatest global contribution is its people. With an estimated 35 million Indians living abroad, the diaspora plays a major economic role, earning about the U.S. $730 billion annually and sending $138 billion back to India, the highest remittances in the world. These funds support families, education, and the economy, even covering a large share of India’s trade deficit.
But the impact goes beyond money. Indians abroad are leaders in business, science, and technology, helping build global connections, investments, and research partnerships. However, India has yet to fully support this potential. Policies could better enable diaspora members to invest, collaborate, and contribute to India’s growth. Dr. Laxminarayan suggests that by reducing barriers and strengthening engagement, India can better benefit from its global talent and accelerate its development. “The larger boost will come from building the conditions under which Indians abroad can more easily invest, learn from, mentor, collaborate, and help build institutions at home. The world already benefits richly from India’s people. We need to think more sensibly about how India can benefit more fully from them too.”
Read it here.
