Travel - International Indian

‘‘Approximately8,000 highskilledIndian ITworkerslive inthe Netherlands.6,000of themin andaroundAmsterdam,therest in TheHagueand inEindhoven.Theyoriginatefrom allover India.No Indianstate isoverrepresented.‘‘future. Where does an open services orientedeconomy find young highly skilled employeesto fill this gap? At the global market for talent,of course. India, with its large pool of eagerand young workers, is the place to scout. ToFormer Indian President Abdul J Kalam, meeting members of theIndian community in the Netherlandshelp convince global (Indian) talent to choosethe Netherlands, the Dutch treat foreignerswell on the financial side: expats get a 30%income tax reduction for ten years.This tax reduction makes the Netherlandsan attractive base also for foreign companies.In fact, the country is a tax haven forbusiness. Most foreign companies aresituated around Amsterdam, mostly on theZuidas, Amsterdam’s main financial districtand comfortably near Schiphol InternationalAirport. More than 70 Indian companies,like Tata Consultancy Servies and Infosys,are among them. These companies employDutch citizens, but many Indians too. Lakhinaestimates that approximately 8,000 highskilled Indian IT workers live and work inthe Netherlands. 6,000 of them in andaround Amsterdam, the rest in the politicalcapital of The Hague and in the southerncity of Eindhoven, the historical base ofPhilips. According to Lakhina, they originatefrom all over India. “No Indian state isoverrepresented.”Most Indian professionals come aloneand, although they adapt well to Dutchculture, they often feel lonely, says Lakhina.“Dutch colleagues are friendly and helpful,but they will not easily invite colleagueshome to meet their wife and have dinnerat their house. So most expats spend theirevenings and weekends by themselves. Sooneror later, they get homesick and want to leavethe country prematurely. That is sad not onlyfor all the individual expats, but for the Dutcheconomy too, as it needs these people.” Tohelp make Indian expats feel at home, Lakhinadecided to set up the Indian Expat Society.Every year, Lakhina organizes a huge Diwalicelebration in the centre of Amstelveen. Also,the Indian Expat Society set up an open airBollywood film festival and an annual IndianCricket Tournament. “We also try to involveIndians in typical Dutch celebrations, likeSinterklaas and Queensday. They are veryopen to learn about the culture. Many tryto learn Dutch too.” But it is not only funand games that the Indian Expat Societyorganizes. “We organize seminars onpractical issues about living here, too. Wediscuss and explain things like how to get amortgage or we invite a speaker who givesa presentation on the rules and regulationsfor renting a house.” Lakhina’s efforts seemto work. Indians are by far the biggest highlyskilledforeign group that have come to theNetherlands in recent years. More generally,there is no other country where expats stayas long as in The Netherlands, according toa recent European-wide study on knowledgeimmigrants.The recent arrival of IT workers from Indiais actually the third wave of Indian immigrationto the Netherlands. Lakhina’s parents are partof a group of around 20,000 Indians thatsettled in the West-European nation in the 60’sand 70’s. Among them was, for example, KulIndians adapt well to the Dutch cultureRattan Chadha, who started the world famousclothing brand Mexx. Even earlier, more than200,000 Indians who lived in the former DutchThe International Indian 57