Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal took a swipe at CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke while discussing government-funded programmes to attract Indian scientists and researchers working abroad back to the country. Speaking to Indian science and technology research students in Berlin, Piyush Goyal said India needed to find ways to bring home its global talent while ensuring that policies were designed to suit a democracy.
“If we do this, then people like Abhijeet Dipke will come and say that it was the government’s job to fund the students, grant scholarships, so why should we do it on our own. Am I right or wrong? Unfortunately, such elements will come and mess with our heads. So we have to calibrate our policies from the point of view of our democracy,”
Piyush Goyal said.
The minister was responding to a question about whether India could introduce a programme similar to China’s state-sponsored initiatives to bring back top scientists, researchers and technology experts from overseas.
‘Difference Between Dictatorship And Democracy’
Piyush Goyal cited China’s efforts to recruit scientists and researchers from abroad, particularly overseas Chinese academics, to strengthen its domestic innovation capabilities and reverse brain drain.
Calling it a good initiative, he said India would have to account for the differences between China’s political system and its own democratic framework.
“It’s a good initiative but then comes the difference between dictatorship and democracy,” Piyush Goyal said.
He also made a quip about the risks of government-funded talent programmes, saying that in China, people were afraid of misuse and could “just disappear”. He added, “If someone misuses it in India, I will disappear.”
‘How Do We Get All Of You To Come Back?’
Addressing the students, Piyush Goyal said India had abundant talent across the world and needed to find ways to attract it back.
“Wherever you go in the world, you find huge Indian talent. But how do we attract them back to India? But we have to also be careful that there is no misuse,” he said.
The minister urged the students to suggest ideas that could help the government develop policies to encourage Indians working overseas to return.
“You also think about ideas and tell us. We want to get you back; we want to attract talent back. How do we get all of you to come back?” he said.
Piyush Goyal added that the decision to return was not always driven by economic considerations, pointing to the emotional connection people may feel with their homeland.
“It’s not always entirely economic… it’s your motherland after all. We have to give back. Maybe sometime ahead in life, keep some space for homeland too,” he said.
Piyush Goyal is on an official visit to Germany and the Netherlands from October 22 to 27, accompanied by a delegation of around 100 Indian businesses and startups.
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