Could India be the Next Global Melting Pot?

India is a favorite destination nowadays, attracting not just Madonna, Leo and other celebs seeking hiatus from all the trappings of Hollywood.

According to a recent Financial Express article, India has been attracting a lot of job-seeking foreigners from across the globe more than ever since the outsourcing boom began as early as two years ago.

Headhunter firms in India are not anymore surprised at an American or European walking in to ask what jobs are available, not to mention the deluge of emails and overseas phone calls.

During the pre-outsourcing era, foreign executives, usually senior-level officials, get transferred o India because of specific skills requirements.

Now headhunters say people age 25 to 55, from high school graduates to those holding doctorate degrees come to India - and earn the same wage as their Indian counterparts.

Statistics point out why India could probably this century's first Promised Land. Unemployment rate in industrialized Western countries grew by about 6.8% last year, according to a study called Global Employment Trends.

Meanwhile, the economic growth rate for industrialized countries stands at 2.8% compared to 5.8% for South Asia.

The outsourcing phenomenon has a lot to do with this migration. Based on what headhunters and Indian companies said, foreigners coming to India can be roughly classified into two broad categories.

There are those whose skills and field of expertise command similar or even higher salaries that what they were previously receiving in their home countries.

On the other hand, there are who voluntarily go to India, since most of the jobs get outsourced there anyway. In most cases, unless their skills don't fall into the earlier category, they are paid in rupees equivalent to what Indian workers are also getting.

Since most of these Indian companies service clients from US and Europe, they cite the advantage of having somebody around who is at least familiar with the client's culture and able to communicate better with them.

Bottomline, it's a win-win situation for both sides.