'Dichotomy': Nithin Kamath Says Young Indians Want To Go To US While Americans Want To Invest In India

Even as a large number of Indians go to the US for education and jobs, Nithin Kamath has said this is a dichotomy as most Americans he knows want to invest in India as they believe India is the future. The Zerodha CEO and founder, however, said that “young Indians are still bitten by the bug” to travel to America to build their future.

“Most Americans I know with money want to invest in India because they believe they are plateauing as a nation and that we are the future. But somehow, young Indians are still bitten by the bug to travel to America to build their future. This is such a dichotomy,” Kamath said in a post on X.

He shared a glimpse of ‘The Open Doors 2023’ report on International Education Exchange, which showed the rising trend among Indians to visit to the US for studies.

Among the two top senders of students to America, China and India, the former is witnessing a falling trend, while India is still witnessing a rising trend of students going to the US for studies.

The number of Indians pursuing postgraduate studies in the US jumped 63 per cent to 1.65 lakh in the academic year 2022-23, surpassing China for the first time in 15 years, according to the report.

Responding to this, X users din’t agree to Kamath’s dichotomy remark. One user, Zafar Shaikh, said, “Americans investing in India for monetary rewards. Indian students escaping India for lifestyle rewards. Two things are not same & there is no dichotomy.”

IAS officer Manuj Jindal in a comment wrote, “It’s not a dichotomy. The Indian students travel to study and work abroad. They earn in $ and send back for investments in India as well because of the growth promise. The bug is really mostly about the higher income opportunities, better corp experience and quality of life. Americans invest in India for the higher return profile as well.”

Another user Kavita said, “Americans want to earn by investing in India and those who are investing are already rich Americans, but young Indians are migrating for a better lifestyle. There is huge income disparity between rich and middle/lower middle class, so both aspects cannot be compared.”