Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said that the days of brain drain from India are over, for India now serves as a brain bank for the world.
Mr. Jaitley, while speaking as the chief guest, at the 3rd convocation at the National Law University, said that India has moved past the days of ‘grey eminence’, where people needed to wait till they were 60 to achieve excellence.
“There was a time when old age meant excellence. Now, people in their 30s reach the top, including CEOs, lawyers, doctors, editors,” he said.
“Most of the developed world is short of skilled people. We have a surplus of human resources. We were worried about a ‘brain drain’, but now we are a brain bank,” he said.
However, despite India’s surplus of human resources, Mr. Jaitley went on to stress the shortage of legal academics in the country.
“We need a huge manpower in legal academics. When we draft legislations in tune with modern trends, traditional minds are not being able to produce it,” he said.
“Not only do you need the best to join the legal profession, but from the legal profession itself you will need the best to join the bench. Because if the best do not join the bench, that itself creates pressure and handicaps the system,” he added.
Mr. Jaitley also noted that in law, traditional areas of litigation like family disputes and land disputes have been now replaced by those like international trade, taxation, and intellectual property.
Finally, Mr. Jaitley exhorted the fresh batch of lawyers graduating to be morally upright. “When in doubt, please go straight. A moral position is a lasting one,” he said.
“Factors like family name and lineage no longer add value like they once did. Only quality and calibre are considered any more,” he said.
