Their contributions are mostly indirect, helping brand India in many ways. Though it has both positives as well as negatives, I think positives outweigh the rest by a mile.
The Positives
- Faith in Indians and India - every time someone speaks about them (or interacts with them or works with them) in the US, chances are that their roots are invariably remembered or alluded to. That is the soft power projection of India. When a major publication carries an article on any one of them, their birthplace, school and colleges are always mentioned - people worldwide come to know about Indian institutions, and develop a sense of respect for India.
- Easier to build bridges - It is infinitely easier for an Indian politicians (like Mr Modi) to reach out to such Indian-origin corporate superstars and make a pitch for the India Story, than to someone else. They were born here, lived here, and unless they are absolute India-haters, would give it a shot at least. This can generate some buzz, some investment, and maybe some long-term commitment of their firms towards India (if not already here chasing a big market).
- Boosting others' confidence - Many Indians get motivated hearing such stories of outstanding achievement. It'll help them cross that proverbial mental bridge and take a shot at it. Maybe each Sundar will help produce many more in the coming decades. It's exactly how you develop and sustain a long-term global brand. And only a matter of time when the cultural and technological diffusion happens enabling home-grown Indian superbrands.
- Hard power for India - Needless to say, the heavily-lobby oriented American political system will never be able to simply steamroll Indian interests. It is exactly how the non-resident Chinese help the (heavily-authoritarian) Chinese communist government back home. And since India is a genuine democracy just like America, we stand in a positive light. There's a lot of back-room political and strategic manoeuvring that must be happening regularly. Remember - it's not Sundar, Satya and Indra - there are hundreds more in the US and worldwide. (Rajiv Suri - Nokia, Shantanu Narayen - Adobe, Sanjay Jha - GlobalFoundries, Dinesh Paliwal - Harman International etc.)
- Of course, remittances by non-residents - Remittances to India stood at $70.39 billion in 2014, accounts for over 4% of the country's GDP. As per the MOIA, remittance is received from the approximately 25 million members of the Indian diaspora. Source - Remittances to India
The Negatives
- Can make Indians think less of India - Many bright young women and men may think it's pointless staying back here, and may feel they can contribute much more by moving abroad. After all, Satya Nadella wasn't a star-studded IITian while in India (he is a passout of Manipal Institute of Technology), which is all the more impressive!
- Parental pressure on stereotyping - Many parents may eulogise these guys a lot more than they deserve, and put pressure on bright kids to leave Indian shores for greener pastures abroad
- Kindling unrealistic hopes - Their Indian alma-maters and Indian governments (state and Central) may start dreaming too much out of the connections, and a lot of it may never materialise leading to frustration
Overall, in a globalized world, it may seem much better for the smart Indians to make a grand name for themselves abroad, and continue building Brand India at a soft power level, than to perhaps struggle back home in an environment that's not exactly innovation- and entrepreneur-friendly.
Source: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-contributions-of-Sundar-Pichai-Indra-Nooyi-and-Nadella-towards-Indian-economy
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