NEW DELHI: Why are rich and wealthy leaving India? This is a question that has been baffling many. Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of portfolio management services company TrueBeacon, feels apart from high taxation in India, wealthy and rich are also leaving India for countries with better infrastructure and security.
“If you look at where the Indian people are immigrating to – they are going to Dubai and Singapore, which have significantly lower taxation. Apart from that, usual reasons like better infrastructure and security are making people want to immigrate to some of these countries,” Kamath told TNIE.
Several reports have claimed that between 5,000-8,000 rich Indians are leaving India for other countries. A recent Global Wealth Migration Review report claimed that 5,000 rich Indians left the country in 2020 alone. According to Henley and Partners, 8,000 wealthy Indians would likely migrate to other countries in 2022. In one of its reports, it said most of the wealthy from emerging markets are migrating to UAE, Australia and Singapore.
Kamath said though it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons, taxation, better infrastructure, safety and security could be the reason why rich Indians are migrating from the country. Kamath, however, says India as an investment destination remains very attractive for foreign investors. He says that the government has been successful in selling the India story outside as foreign investors seem to be more optimistic about India growth story than the Indian investors.