Looking back into the 21^st century, mankind at the turn of the century would narrate the unfolding classic tale between Mr. American and Miss. India. Mr. America has jobs. Miss India has workers. Mr. America to be economically competitive, need to optimise output from jobs. Miss India to be socially stable, need to skillfully create employment for the workers. A social proposition, which is economically viable, should stand good prospects for political marriage.

Mr. American was never impressed with Miss India…only because they rarely met and had little interaction, which was few and far between. All encompassing power of “TIME”, the turn of a century had to intervene to break this elusive barrier between Mr. America and Miss India. The Y2K bug poised an open challenge for Mr. America, and the same presented an opportunity for Miss India to showcase her hidden talent.

Mr. America was in a state of a critical need; a time bomb was ticking…man vs. machine. A software error in the clocking of machine could collapse the mankind. The fear was clear present and danger. Man was compelled to win a marathon race against the machine’s deadline. The tug of war commenced…the need of complex jobs and the skill of technical workers. Mr. America needed talented manpower resources to win the war against the deadly timeline of machines. Man won the war against machine. But it was Miss India who won the heart of Mr. America.

With the turn of century turned the table of relationship. Mr. American had to change its perception and was impressed with the talent of Miss India. Soon started the saga of love affair between the tall handsome American and the short beautiful Indian…

During Y2K debugging the existing educational institutions couldn’t meet the sudden surge in the demand for Miss India in America. The Y2K bug re-vitalized the educational system in India. Miss India geared up anticipating the need. The floodgate for new educational institutions never stopped and continued to produce a critical mass of trained class of talented workers. 250 universities and over 10,000 higher educational institutions producing a million graduates including 2,00,000 engineers per year. It has second largest reservoir of knowledge resource - engineers, scientists, managers, skilled personnel, and the largest pool of IT manpower in the world. It is estimated that there are 1,50,000 IT professionals in Bangalore as against 1,20,000 in Silicon Valley.

 Like every love affair, Mr. America and Miss India also had to face the litmus test of 9/11. Mr. American was demoralized, and the impact had a destabilizing impinge on the state of mind. The economic vitality became a question mark; trust, the very inception of the bondage between Mr. America and Miss India was under scanner. There was every possibility of abrupt closure of the blossoming love affair. But by then Miss India had her family of NRIs to protect and promote the political marriage. This new generation of Miss India’s family is transforming Mr. America’s high technology, business, and increasingly media worlds…are serving as unparalleled interpreters and translators. They have assumed prominent roles in academia, the media, business, high-tech industries, and even in government and politics. After the dotcom bust, the 9/11 crises was perhaps a blessing in disguise, which once again brought to the fore the conspicuous need of Mr. America and the latent skill of Miss India…perhaps a providence.

Dotcom burst got eclipsed in the whirlwind of 9/11 crises. Mr. America was once again put to the mission to regain the vitality of the bruised economy. The question this time was “COST”. Miss India had the skill to offer services at a fraction of cost to that of Mr. America… coincidentally the need of Mr. America to economies cost were timely addressed by the skill of Miss India. For instance software programmers get the same work done at $5000 in India as against $50,000 in US. The love saw no bound…breaking the boundary. Importing workers like healthcare nurses where patients cannot be exported to exporting ITES jobs like banking queries where the customers’ call can be transmitted in the wire.  

The most important impact of export of IT enabled service jobs is at the mass level, this as a business holds hope for the common Indian. Miss India was excited about the new prospects. This is a sector, which can employ ordinary graduates or even non-graduates, since the skill requirements are fairly simple knowledge of English and basic computer skills. This sector can thus create jobs for a million ordinary graduates within the next few years. Not to mention the growth of ancillary sectors like training and education services. Nasscom-McKinsey have predicted that ITES sector in India will provide jobs to 1.1 m people and generate revenues of $17 bn by the year 2008. Miss India’s imperative requirement of employing these burgeoning skilled graduates, commensurate well with Mr. America’s need of getting the job done at a fraction of the cost. It’s no more a one-sided lover affair.

“Scott R. Baymam President & CEO of GE India in an interview said; “We are using India to maintain GE’s global competitiveness through India’s huge intellectual talent”. The BPO operations of GE capital in India save the company US$340 million a year.   Miss India’s confidence was reinforced hearing such encouraging remarks from the relatives of Mr. America.

The new global order with globalisation…it’s breaking geographical boundaries, building virtual space. Exporting low skilled jobs or importing high skilled workers is of critical need to the trade balance of a country with the rest of the world. No more a one-way flow. Mr. America and Miss India are no exception. Each necessary skill, which a country neglects to train sufficient numbers to perform, is likely to be imported by wire from another country. The emergence of the information society, highlights, as never before the direct economic value of having a highly educated, and trained workforce relative to global competitors.

CNBC TV of USA in a series of commentaries on India had the following to say; “For American CEOs trying to grow their companies, the issue is whether they embrace Globalisation? If they do, they must have a presence in India”.   Over the past twenty-five years, foreign trade and the cross-border movement of technology, labor, and capital have been massive and irresistible. Godfather globalization has brought new potentials for development and wealth creation for Mr. America and Miss India. The answer now is… where is the question of Mr. America not marrying Miss India?

What a promising proposition for Miss India, now her family members back home can cherish the fruits of exported jobs. The credentials of imported NRIs with Mr. America have put the engagement rings…now marriage is just a matter of time.

With “time” the “technology” has build the platform for performing a “cost” effective marriage of Mr. America’s capital with Miss India’s labour… which has a political timing, building a social technology that has an economy of cost.

It’s once in a life time occasion. Little kids grow up waiting for the special event. Mr. America and Miss India as kids, never perhaps, waited for it but as adult did realise the inevitable unfolding special moment. But as it arrives, it accompanies with it a lot of apprehensions, pleasure and mysterious feeling of excitement. After all it’s the occasion of marriage. The political parents of both the bride and groom can no more deny the prospect that they are “Made for Each Other”. This new generation in both countries is liberated from the past. In the words of an American popular song, they want to “take care of business,” and are more relaxed about the anxieties of their parents, or the goals of their grandparents.

Marriage of Mr. America’s need and Miss India’s skill is inevitable…the question of whether to “Import Workers or Export Jobs” its like asking whether they should have a boy or a girl. With marriage it is expected but whether a boy or a girl…only time & the dynamics of the relationship can answer, but with all probability a combination. But they are on the verge of scripting a tale having a lovely representation of world family, striking the perfect Balance of Profession/People (BoP) of its import and export… 

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