According to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation’s (HSBC) annual Expat Explorer Survey of 2014, in which 9,000 expatriates were interviewed as the sample group, India has been ranked as the 9th best country to live in for expats opting for a comfortable life.
“India is fun, exciting and varied — and that can sometimes mean challenging, too,” an expat told HSBC.
According to the survey, India was labelled as the ‘most populous democracy’ and a ‘rising economic superpower’ which has been attracting large numbers of expats, mainly foreign investors.
The country was ranked fifth in social life, seventh in making local friends, and ninth for entertainment.
Without doubt the entertainment industry of India has been setting examples around the world with its consecutive box office hits and its estimated revenue is said to reach around Rs 2,272 billion by 2018. (The Times of India reports)
Ranking sixth in raising children abroad, India was praised for its high quality of child care and education which has been made affordable for the masses by the government.
“One of the main benefits of raising a family in India is that many find it more cost effective, with 44% of expats reporting that the cost of raising children there is lower than in their home country, well above the global average of 17%,” the report stated.
60% of the expats agreed that although initially it is challenging for them to set up businesses and adapt to the culturally driven work environment, gradually the situation is improving and conditions are getting better for living and work.
Half of the expats surveyed in India were aged between 35 and 54 and British nationals made up the largest single nationality with 23% of those surveyed. Next was the United States with 14%.
It was observed that most of the expats were sent to live in India for a period of 10 years or more by their companies as India emerges in the global Information Technology (IT) and computing software market.
India’s diverse culture and landscape, ranging from the tropical islands in the south and the snowy mountain peaks of the north provides its residents with an ideal opportunity to pick which state works best for them as all its 28 states have a distinct lifestyle. India’s society although vastly conservative in current times, is becoming acceptant of secularism and westernization as barriers between the East and West begin to dissolve with rapid globalization. Hence foreigners find it relatively easy to mingle and settle down.
The element of timeliness for the release of this report should not be overlooked when United States of America has extended a helping hand to India for numerous development projects in the financial, environmental and defense sector and has vowed to continue supporting India in its nation building policies.
