Rajesh Srinivasan, Ph.D., is one of Gallup's regional directors for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Asia Pacific. He's also a native of India, one of many smart, ambitious Indians who left home to work overseas. For those reasons, Dr. Srinivasan has a unique perspective on Indian migration patterns: He's in charge of collecting and analyzing the world's most comprehensive and up-to-date assembly of data points that reflect current trends in a tremendously dynamic country -- and he is a migrant himself. Starting a business in general -- and more so in a country like India -- involves a tremendous amount of risk. What Dr. Srinivasan sees from his perspective does not match what many people assume about Indian migration. For one thing, 5% of Indian adults would like to leave India permanently if they could, according to Gallup data from 2010. If the past Indian census data are any indication, as many Indians are likely to migrate within the country's borders than to leave the country permanently -- if not more. There's a lot those data points leave unsaid, which is why Srinivasan's insights -- such as the characteristics of people who migrate, the challenges they face, and the help they get along the way -- are so valuable. In the following conversation, Dr. Srinivasan talks about what he sees when he goes back to India, what he's found in the Gallup data, and what most people don't know about Indian migration. GMJ: Before we get into why people migrate in and out of India, can you tell me what causes people to even consider it? Rajesh Srinivasan, Ph.D.: I've always thought the notion of migrating is laden with risk, and the objective for anyone who's a potential migrant is to try to minimize that risk. Having family or friends elsewhere will definitely increase a potential migrant's sense of security, but nevertheless, it's a risky proposition. So I was looking for signs that would provide any indication that the people who want to leave are people who are willing to accept higher levels of risk. GMJ: Did you find anything? Dr. Srinivasan: When looking at the India data from 2010, the strongest correlate I found was that the desire to leave the country is higher among people who say they want to start a business. Among those planning to start a business, 18% say they would like to leave the country, while 4% among those who don't want to start a business say they would like to leave. Starting a business in general -- and more so in a country like India -- involves a tremendous amount of risk. So it's almost as if people who have high risk tolerance have the potential to be migrants because they want to be in a new environment, learn new things, figure out how things work, and succeed. GMJ: Does the business climate in India have anything to do with that impulse? Dr. Srinivasan: Traditionally, people have argued that to be the case. However, our data doesn't support that hypothesis. At the overall level, those desiring to leave the country still rate business conditions in India -- such as the availability of a trusted business partner, whether paperwork is accessible, and whether it is easy to obtain a loan to start a business -- better than those planning to stay in the country. Fundamentally, it appears that those who want to leave the country are a different breed; they are more optimistic, they expect to accomplish greater things, and they are very determined and hardworking with clear goals. These are many of the same things you would also expect in anyone interested in starting a business. Among the more educated, some may feel that they have a great idea, but the conditions in India are not conducive for them to actually succeed in business. So they may want to leave and explore those options elsewhere, maybe in Singapore or in North America, where there's already a trail that has been blazed by others. Among those who don't have as much education, some may feel quite desperate that they can't find a job, or the right job, so they want to start a business. They recognize it's going to be tough starting a business in India, but by seeking opportunities to create an export or trading business with partners in countries like Malaysia or Singapore, they are opening up doors to travel overseas and maybe move permanently eventually.

GMJ: But how do potential migrants get information about opportunities in other countries? Dr. Srinivasan: Usually from their social networks. Migrants get much of their information from someone in their community who has already left -- somebody from their household or neighborhood, or maybe somebody they know who knows someone who migrated. I'll give you an interesting example: The last time I lived in India, I had the privilege of being able to hire a driver. I say privilege because typically it's pretty expensive to have a personal car and even more expensive to have someone driving you around. Migrants get much of their information from social networks -- from someone in their community who has already left. GMJ: So why did you do it? Dr. Srinivasan: Because I was scared to drive in India. I didn't want to get killed or injure somebody else. My driver was a really nice guy and stayed with me the full five years I was there. When I was getting ready to leave, he was desperate to leave too, so he asked me if I could write a recommendation letter for him to find job as a driver in Singapore. I was happy to write a recommendation letter for him, but I couldn't see why he'd want to leave. So I asked him why he needed to go to Singapore, because he could easily find a job in India. He said, "I hear that my window of opportunity for going to Singapore is closing very quickly. They have quotas, but they need drivers, and they pay much better; they take good care of you. And if I send money back as remittance, it amounts to a lot more than what I can earn working here, even for a nice boss." So I asked him how he knew it wasn't a scam, and he said, "Two of my friends went there, and they're still working there -- that's how I got my information." In other words, there was a network of people passing information about cab driving opportunities around the world. These guys have good networks, and the information flows back about what works and what doesn't. If someone comes back because they were abused, that information is shared. They use these networks to support each other and gain more information, and these networks keep expanding. If you are an unskilled or semi-skilled worker, you will be relying heavily on information and social networks like these to decide about those opportunities. GMJ: That seems awfully risky. Is it possible to find a job and a house and to know who the bad guys are just from a friend of a friend in Malaysia? Dr. Srinivasan: Typically, yes. It does involve a fair amount of risk assessment. And in many of these countries, including India, there is a significant presence of middlemen. Many of them are registered, legitimate entities, though they're perhaps more organized in countries such as the Philippines, where there's an excellent information bureau that provides information about where to go, where not to go, the record of human rights abuses, availability of job opportunities, salaries, those kinds of things. Still, migrants know that they are taking a chance; it won't be perfect, it won't be 100% guaranteed that the experience will be pleasant or even worth it. Sometimes they have to rationalize, saying, "I'll be gone just two years and make some money, and that will be good enough for me to come back. Or maybe I'll get lucky and have an excellent experience and I won't come back." But I don't think the decision to emigrate is based on a long-term perspective, particularly when you're talking about a semi-skilled or unskilled worker. Now, if you're talking about more educated people applying for a job with a foreign company, they may have a very different perspective. They know why they're going and that they have a unique skill set. In that case, the company isn't hiring cheap labor; it's acquiring intellectual capital. From that perspective, such migrants have greater leverage, better information, and more security because they know the decision to continue or quit is entirely up to them.