A statement by Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath in going viral on social media, where he says that young Indians should build their careers at home and not look abroad for opportunities.The 46-year-old entrepreneur says, “My golden life advice to kids is do whatever the hell you want but don’t you dare leave India.”In an LinkedIn post, Kamath had said that whenever students ask him for advice, he tells them to stay in India. According to him, the reason is not just about preventing brain drain or fulfilling an obligation towards the country.“Whenever students ask me for advice, I say, stay in India. Not just because we need to avoid the brain drain or that there’s an obligation to the country, but because India will most likely have the best opportunities in future,” he wrote.Kamath pointed to India’s young population as one of the country’s biggest strengths. Referring to economist Shruti Rajagopalan’s observations, he noted that one in five people below the age of 25 globally is from India.“Globally, one in five people below 25 is from India. 47% of Indians, about 650 million, are below the age of 25. This group of young Indians has some unique characteristics,” he wrote, describing them as educated digital natives with global ambitions.
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Kamath has also argued that building companies in India benefits the country in the long run. In a post, he said that wealth needs to be created locally if India wants inclusive growth.“I’ve said this earlier: for India to grow inclusively, wealth has to be created locally. Today, much of the success of homegrown startups goes to investors outside India,” he wrote.He also highlighted practical reasons for entrepreneurs to stay and build in India. “Staying in India and incorporating at home also saves the future hassle of paying huge taxes to flip back. Also, the growing local pools of capital, ever-improving regulations, and the growth of IPO markets have made India a much more attractive destination than it ever was.”The post is going viral at a time when the United States is preparing to make significant changes to its immigration rules for international students. Right now, under the “Duration of Status” (D/S) system, students can remain in the US for as long as they continue studying and follow their visa rules. There is no fixed end date on their stay. Under the proposed new rule, students would be allowed to stay only for a fixed period of time, likely up to four years in most cases.
