‘High-Salaried Individuals Should Leave India’: Startup Founder Triggers Debate With Controversial Advice – News18

Last Updated:December 23, 2024, 11:58 IST

An Indian entrepreneur in a Reddit post listed out several reasons on why he believes those looking to create something innovative should consider moving abroad.

An Indian entrepreneur recently caused a stir on social media with a strong message advising high-salaried individuals to leave India for better opportunities abroad. The founder, who runs a successful startup, titled his post, “Leave India! It’s high time! And I am telling this as someone who runs a well-funded business!” His post quickly caught the attention of many and sparked mixed reactions.

In his post on Reddit, the entrepreneur first explained his background. He shared that he studied at one of India’s top engineering institutes and later went to the US for his postgraduate studies. After working in a leading bank, he returned to India in 2018 to start his own company which now employs about 30 people and offers an average salary of Rs 15 lakh. Despite his success, he alleged that in India, innovation is killed by “stupid” regulations. He went on to point out several reasons why he believes those looking to create something innovative should consider moving abroad.

First, he shared a personal experience about a fraud case involving his app. “We had a fraudulent case on our app and an FIR was filed. We solved the case and helped the police and the victim got his money back. Guess what, we are accused and the police doesn’t close the case and expects money from us. This is India for you,” he said.

The entrepreneur also expressed frustration with the “regional hate” he faced on a daily basis saying that he often encountered discrimination from people such as vendors, taxi drivers and restaurant staff.

Next, he complained about the work culture in India stating that people are judged based on their appearance or wealth. “If you don’t look rich or wear branded- you are a piece of filth in this country,” he said.

Further, the entrepreneur criticised the high taxes in India and pointed out that he couldn’t access basic government services like good roads or healthcare.

In his post, the user also shared an incident from Goa where he encountered a group of people littering on the road. He mentioned that he politely asked them to either keep the place clean or use a nearby trash bin. However, they responded by telling him to “mind my own business or pick up the trash if I want.”

His reasons didn’t end there as he also warned that India’s economy could collapse pointing to the rupee’s significant depreciation. “The rupee is depreciating massively,” he stated.

In the end, he suggested that innovators should consider moving to countries like the UAE or Thailand. “In a nutshell…leave the country where they will even tax your popcorn because they are out of ideas to make it a 5 trillion-dollar economy!” he concluded.

His post was later removed from Reddit with a message stating, “Sorry, this post has been removed by the moderators of r/india.”

The post, although deleted later, gained significant traction online and drew a range of reactions from other Redditors.

One user commented, “I live in Australia and this guy is right. Indians pay a lot of taxes and get nothing in return. F*****up roads, healthcare, bad infrastructure, mass corruption, pollution, backwards policies. None of these politicians care that they are all corrupt and lining their own pockets. We also need to fix the overpopulation issue, it’s better for you guys to try to leave India and build a life elsewhere and return when it gets better.”

Another user disagreed with the entrepreneur, stating, “Bruh, leave and go where? For a native it’s easiest to have a company in India. Get investors. Get talent. Bigger market to scale.”

Someone else wrote, “LOL go try and start a business in the UAE. It’s extremely difficult. I have friends there. What research have you done? It’s impossible to grow your own business there if you’re not Emirati.”

“You are rich. Not everyone has money or assets or family support to leave. If everyone is to leave India, suggest a country that will support at least 10% of our population(180 million). That is larger than some nations,” one user pointed out.

An individual said, “I see a lot of posts of people asking us to move out of India but reality is it’s very difficult to immigrate anywhere. Every country has been making immigration very very difficult right now. Canada has reduced their visas, UK and other European countries too and even Australia. The USA was always the hardest but after January it is going to be even harder.”