GLOBAL Indians are wooing and are being wooed by top Indian corporates to return home to India. It is not just techies but Indians working in different sectors of industry are homeward bound to be part of a booming Indian economy. The number of returning non-resident Indians (NRIs) has swelled in the past one year as expatriates find better job offers in India. ‘Moving back’ has always been a muchdebated topic of conversation at NRI gatherings, but it has now taken on an added piquancy with the buzz about the kind of jobs and opportunities being offered in India. Indian expatriates are in demand because of the huge growth in some sectors that has led to a shortage of skilled and trained professionals. The demand extends to entry-level jobs as well. A few about-to-graduate youngsters travelling to India to visit their families this summer were surprised at the ease with which they could line up job interviews at a couple of leading newspapers, market research agencies and NGOs. Placement agencies and Web sites that specialise in finding jobs for NRIs have sprung up in recent months. One such site proudly claims to have located about 200 senior and top management jobs for NRIs. Job fairs in American towns for jobs in India have proved highly successful and evoked great interest in the NRI community. Prime salaries, company accommodation, comfortable lifestyle in familiar surroundings and an all expenses paid relocation for the family are some of the attractions bringing home the expatriate Indians. New sectors or those that have opened up in recent times such as retail and realty have been looking at the global Indian community for recruiting experienced professionals. If it was IT professionals who were returning to India to work or set up on their own earlier, it is now managerial and white collar jobs that are on offer in India. Indian expatriates as well as people of Indian origin have found or been headhunted for jobs in the middle and senior echelons of a wide variety of companies in India in sectors as varying as construction, shipping and the newspaper industry. In healthcare, specialised marketing, biotechnology, aerospace and defence-related areas, companies are looking for people with experience in specific fields of operation. The expatriates are valued for their international exposure and knowledge of work practices abroad by companies competing in the world market. Business enterprises looking to set up shop in India have also turned to the global Indian community as a rich source of professionals familiar with the conditions in India. Multinational companies such as Motorola, which have development centres in cities around the world including India and China, have set up ‘Return to India’ programmes for their development centres. Indians who have lived abroad for several years have for some time been returning home. Delays in obtaining a work visa or green card have also contributed to this process. According to an estimate by the Returned Non-Residents Association, over 30,000 IT professionals returned to Bangalore in 2005