Raj to riches
Economic exchange
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Economic exchange

Economic migration has been a fixture of the Indian labour market for four decades.

Since the 1950s, Britain has plundered its former colonies to fill low-ranking, mainly public sector employment voids. Migrants from the sub-continent joined their comrades from the Caribbean on Britain’s often unwelcoming shores in the 1960s. They commonly encountered hardship and hostility, but their lasting legacy was the creation of multi-cultural Britain as we see it today.

But building on a strong cultural identity, self dependency and self reliance, Asian migrants have made their own economic mark.

While ethnic minorities represent 5% of the population in the UK, they account for around 9% of business start-ups, and there are now more than 300 Asian millionaires in the UK.

Britain's 200 most affluent Asian men and women are now worth a combined total of £8bn, in sectors from finance and commodities, to fashion, retailing, hotel and catering and pharmaceuticals.

Media moguls such as Lord Ali have emerged, along with the likes of Tom Singh, 49, whose recently floated New Look fashion-store chain has raised him to sixth richest at £200 million, alongside hotelier Jasminder Singh, 47. Familiar high-street brands such as Time Computers, and Snappy Snaps are also owned by Asians.

At home, mindful that the country may once again fall victim of its own success as when the British East India Company arrived in the 1600s, India is now attempting to attract inward investment on its own terms, taking full advantage of the globalisation of world markets. For instance, the international call-centre industry – one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world – is finding India a very attractive base. The diverse skills available make it a cheaper proposition, and secondly, there is a willing workforce, often with recently acquired regionalised English accents!

British Airways is a recent addition to India’s burgeoning portfolio of call-centre clients, opening a huge customer-service centre in Bombay. Staff are bi- or multi-lingual and deal with queries from all over the world. As far as the British customer is aware, the reply has been sent from London.

Buoyed by the nation’s new-found confidence, the Indian film industry is beginning to attract increased international interest, hitherto the monopoly of Hollywood in the money and glamour stakes.

Bollywood churns out more movies per year than its illustrious US counterpart (with an average of 800 films per year), but until now had not made major inroads outside Asia and the Indian diaspora.

With Indian film-makers upgrading their technology to match global standards and increasing the base of coverage to cater to a larger audience, who is to say they will not be the next to take the world by storm.

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