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Janki Shah studied in Atlanta, but returned to India to start up her own camping company
As India's economy grows, tens of thousands of young Indians who have studied overseas are heading back to their homeland, drawn by rising living standards. It's a phenomenon known as the reverse brain drain.
"There were many people who thought I was stupid for not settling there and having a house in the suburbs," says Janki Shah as she reflects on her decision to move back to India from the United States.
But for Janki the lure of picket fences and neatly manicured lawns wasn't enough to keep her in America.
Like many Indians, Janki left India to study overseas, hoping to gain a broader world view and a good education. She studied design in Atlanta, then worked in New York, before returning to India to start her own camping company.
"India is a very exciting market, and right now is a great time to come back to India to start something on your own," she says.
'Untapped market'Two years ago, Janki and her husband set up Big Red Tent, a company that runs weekends in the Indian countryside, and hopes to broaden the appeal of camping in India, where it is still not that common.
The economic downturn in the United States and a sense that India was "more conducive" to new business ideas was what drove them to start up a company back home.
"If we were in the States we'd be one of many camping companies in a saturated market, whereas here we have the space and support to start up.
"India is a fantastic untapped market, open to experimental and innovative ideas, and the middle classes now have the money and are willing to try new things," says Janki.
Cultural affinity and family ties have often been reasons why Indians return home after studying. But the business potential that India offers right now, makes it an even more attractive prospect says Avdesh Mittal, a partner at the Mumbai branch of international headhunters Heidrick and Struggles.
"The kind of funding that is now available here in India was not available in the past. It used to be Silicon Valley typically where the young graduates could find the money to make their startups, but now with the economic environment and the future so bright, there are more and more people willing to give these guys the money."
'Creating affluence'Mr Mittal says his company has also seen a rise in the numbers of mid-career professionals returning home, attracted by a higher standard of living.
"India is now seen as a marketplace which people want to capture, not just as a destination which people use to lower their pricing.
"It is a place where professionals can drive revenue into the marketplace, and in turn it is creating affluence and improving the quality of life," he says.
A recent study from the Kaufman entrepreneurship foundation in the United States spoke to Indian and Chinese professionals who had been educated in America.Continued
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