As conversations around tightening US immigration policies and H-1B visa mandates intensify, entrepreneur and investor Anupam Mittal has weighed in with a perspective that shifts the focus from policy to progress at home.
The founder of Shaadi.com recently sparked an online discussion after reflecting on how India’s talent ecosystem has transformed over the last two decades. According to him, what looks like “reverse migration” is actually the result of years of groundwork that have quietly reshaped India’s digital economy.
Mittal candidly admitted that he once believed “Indian talent is quite poor,” a perception shaped by his early days of building Shaadi.com nearly 20 years ago.
Back then, hiring for technology roles was a struggle. Product managers, UX designers and experienced developers were rare. Teams were stitched together from adjacent professions, project managers, graphic designers, journalists and PR professionals, who had to be persuaded with “tea and dreams” to help build a website.
“If you could speak English and didn’t blink for ten minutes, you were hired,” he joked, underscoring the scarcity of specialised tech skills in India’s early internet era.
Today, he says, that reality has flipped dramatically.
Over the past six months, Mittal has been hiring for mid- and senior-level roles. His takeaway: the depth and maturity of Indian talent is now “world-class”.
Engineers with experience scaling products from zero to millions of users. Designers who think like builders. Operators who have navigated chaos and delivered under pressure. Product leaders who understand global markets. The ecosystem, he suggests, has evolved far beyond outsourcing and services.
People who might have once chosen to remain in Silicon Valley are now choosing Bengaluru or Mumbai, not out of compulsion, but because the work in India is ambitious and inspiring.
H-1B Policies: A Factor, Not The Cause
The H-1B visa programme in the United States has long been a pathway for Indian professionals to build careers abroad. Tighter immigration policies and growing uncertainty around visa renewals have undoubtedly influenced career decisions.
However, Mittal argues that policy shifts are not the core driver of this trend.
“Yes, tighter immigration policies abroad have helped. But that’s not the story,” he wrote.
The bigger story, according to him, is what India has built over 20 years: internet-first companies, strong product cultures, founders who think globally, and a startup ecosystem that offers both scale and impact.
India once relied heavily on importing experienced talent from abroad to lead product and technology functions. Today, Mittal says, the country is “manufacturing it — at scale”.
The rise of venture capital, unicorn startups, SaaS success stories, fintech innovation, and deep-tech experimentation has created a virtuous cycle. Professionals trained in high-growth Indian startups are now globally competitive. Many are choosing to stay. Others are returning.
“Reverse migration is a headline. The digital ecosystem is the plot,” Mittal observed.
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