Indiaspora unveils report showcasing Indian Diaspora’s contributions

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Indiaspora’s Impact Report, titled “Small Community, Big Contributions, Boundless Horizons,” a data driven report highlighting the contributions of the Indian diaspora in the United States was launched at the National Press Club on June 13, 2024.

Indiaspora collaborated with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to bring out the report that delves on the contributions of the 5.1 million Indian Americans in a variety of fields, including technology, public policy, healthcare, and education in addition to their work in enhancing US-India partnership.

“These individuals embody the spirit of innovation and community engagement. Their staunch commitment to shared values of democracy, economic collaboration, and cultural diversity has enabled Indian Americans to have a profound impact on both nations. This is a study that is a quantified catalog of the achievements of the Indian diaspora today coupled with narratives that showcase some of their inspiring profiles,” noted the report.

The report highlights several key facts: 16 of the Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are currently led by Indian-origin CEOs collectively overseeing 2.7 million employees; Indian international students totaling 270,000 comprise 30 per cent of all international students in the US; In 2023, Indian Americans co-founded 11 per cent of US unicorns (72 out of 648); There are over 6,000 Indian restaurants operating in the US and Indian Americans own 60 per cent of all US hotels in the country; Cricket has been officially included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics; Since 2000, 28 out of 34 Scripps National Spelling Bee champions have been of Indian origin; Indian Americans make up 3 per cent of all journalists and 1.3 per cent of all lawyers in the US; and Indian-American households contribute over $1.5 billion annually to various causes.

The report details Kamala Harris, as the first woman of South Asian descent to be elected Vice President of the United States, while also talking about notable figures such as Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, the first woman and person of color to serve as President of Penn State.

Founder of Indiaspora, MR Rangaswami told News India Times, “This report is to chronicle and document the impact the diaspora has made in the US. It’s talking not about success, but impact. So, it’s to acknowledge the 16 CEOs of the fortune 500 who are responsible for 2.7 million jobs, 75,000 doctors who serve 30 million patients, and 22,000 academics who teach millions of college students.”

“This report has been a tremendous learning experience for all of us. And we’ve uncovered so much data here,” he said adding it took about three months to complete it.

Regional Chair of BCG, North America, Sesh Iyer, while lauding the economic contributions of Indian Americans also provided an overview of the report highlighting their work in areas such as innovation, entrepreneurship, hospitality, academia, and government and public policy.

“The bilateral relationship is extremely important to both countries, and that is the reason why we are launching this report. We are trying to raise awareness of the multifaceted contributions of the Indian diaspora in many realms of American society,” said Indiaspora’s Executive Director Sanjeev Joshipura.

“This is such a phenomenal report,” noted Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Sethuraman Panchanathan while congratulating Rangaswami and Joshipura for their leadership. While underscoring NSF’s partnerships with the India’s Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Information Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Mines, and the Quad alliance, Panchanathan said “I can tell you, this is a very important moment. I cannot overstate this. It’s a great opportunity. I think we should do more together.”

Commending Rangaswami and the entire Indiaspora’s team for bringing out the report, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois referred to Rangaswami as “Mr. Networker” and said, “It’s only appropriate that he commissioned this report that assesses the impact of Indian Americans.” Another Congressman Shri Thanedar from Michigan also lauded the work of Indiaspora for launching this report.

President of US-India Business Council Atul Keshap said, “I’m so impressed by the work of Indiaspora to make Indians and Indian Americans and people from all over the world who have Indian heritage have that sense of collective identity. It really means a lot.” Keshap, who held the position of Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in New Delhi also provided an overview of the US-India relations.

Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Aruna Miller said, “I have to tell you, I went and looked at your report, the first ever that talks about Indian Americans and their impact in the United States. I loved every bit of it,” adding, “Because I can’t tell you how often I’m googling things [for] what percentage of Indian Americans are there and how many are physicians and entrepreneurs and on the Forbes 500 list. You did it all…”

“I want to congratulate the Indiaspora and BCG to have produced this report. I think it’s a very important one,” President of FedEx, Raj Subramaniam told News India Times.

A video message by US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, congratulating Indiaspora for launching the report was played during the event, where Chairman and Founder of the AAPI Victory Fund, Shekar Narasimhan, and Managing Partner at BCG in Houston, Santosh Appathurai also spoke. Virginia House Delegate, Kannan Srinivasan, and Chair of the Virginia Asian Advisory Board, Srilekha Palle among others were also present.