Though Vivek Bansal, 35, loves facing a challenge, nothing quite compares with the thrill of the apocalyptic new one he has taken upon himself: the New Jersey resident is leaving American shores-his home for almost 13 years-for the warmth of Delhi. "The intention is to try and settle down for good," says Bansal. After an initial cooling period, he proposes to start his own enterprise to exploit the emerging business opportunities in the country.

VIVEK BANSAL, 35: New Jersey to Delhi "If the economy had not been so healthy, our decision would've been hindered." India's growth rate has Bansal astir. "There is enough opportunity to build myself as an entrepreneur," says the techie, who sold his US venture for a princely sum.

It is a story being increasingly replicated: the expatriates are coming back. The epiphany that had lured them to the US has been transferred to their native land-complete with a robust economy, infinitesimal opportunities and improved lifestyles-and it is drawing them back to their own country. With the global economy shrinking steadily, India, with its promise of an average 6 per cent growth, proffers a haven of prospects.

It is this overriding factor that prompted Bansal, an American citizen, to move to Delhi. "I feel very strongly about the way the Indian economy is going," says the techie, who went to the US for a masters in computer science and, like hordes of others, stayed on. "India has enough opportunity now for me to build myself as an entrepreneur. Had the economy not been positioned at this trajectory, it would have hindered the decision to go back," he says.

In the past, the only way people returned to India was when they were pushed out; now it is voluntary, says Madhulika Khandelwal, a leading expert on the South Asian diaspora in New York. "Geography is no longer a limitation. Also, there is a distinct shrinking of options in the US. Since these were the major attractions in the first place, it is clear that this may no longer be the place to come to," she says.

Sunder Ramaswamy's return to India has been more of a soft landing motivated by what he believes is the rich prospect for academic research. "As a development economist there is a professional interest in seeing how Indian reforms are unfolding and to be able to direct research on the subject," says the 39-year-old who went to the US in 1985. Head of the economics faculty in Vermont's Middlebury College, Ramaswamy is now taking over the reins of the Madras School of Economics.

Suresh "Sean" Narayanan, too, decided it was the right time to bid adieu to Virginia. "Eight years ago I would have found it difficult to come back because a competitive environ and monetary support were lacking," says the 34-year-old director of Cognizant Technology Solutions, Bangalore. "Things are different today. India, and more so Bangalore, is a global hub. People are working on cutting-edge technologies right here."

DHEERAJ BHARDWAJ, 33: Illinois to Delhi "Nowhere else can one get the freedom found in India. If we don't improve our land, who will?" Three years in the US is all it took for the mathematician to cry out for freedom. Though flooded with corporate offers, he opted for IIT, Delhi, so that he could "build a team".

The opportunity shift to India is not something only Indian-Americans have realised. Following close on their heels are American companies embracing the business of outsourcing. As a result, the job opportunities, that were abundant in the mid-1990s, are now shifting to India. Sensing an opportunity, the West Coast-based Silicon India magazine recently hosted two recruitment fairs to provide a meeting ground for US-based techies from India and companies like Microsoft. "We had about 1,000 people at the fair and a lot of follow-up meetings were agreed upon," says Karthik Sundaram, managing editor, Silicon India. Even Wipro's job fairs to attract Indians elicited an enthusiastic turnout. "Our fairs in New Jersey and California fetched a response from almost 600 software professionals in the US who want to get back and work," says Wipro's hr chief, Prateek Kumar. "Of course, we cannot accommodate all of them but we are sifting through the applications to zero in on the required number." It is believed that at least 100 of them may be employed in the Wipro facilities in India.

"Most of our bright talent used to go overseas never to come back. Now we will see a two-way mobility, which is good," says Kiran Karnik, chairperson, NASSCOM. "The quality of life in India is much better and jobs too have become better both in terms of material benefits and professional challenges," he adds.

Multinational companies are increasingly targeting India for product development that demands a higher skill set than product upkeep-the earlier purpose. This prompted consultancy and recruitment firm Ma Foi Ltd's project "Returning Indians" to tap those retracing their steps home. "We placed 15 people in the past three months. There is a large movement at the senior levels," says K. Subramanian, head of Ma Foi's Bangalore centre. The reverse brain drain, he believes, will continue.

SURESH "SEAN" NARAYANAN, 34: Virginia to Bangalore "Eight years ago returning would've been difficult, but now India has the environment and the money." What does Virginia have that Bangalore doesn't? Nothing, the techie learnt first-hand. Bangalore, with its cutting-edge technologies, is "a global hub", he says.

The beginning of the collapse of the Great American Dream was, of course, the dotcom debacle. California's employment figures reveal that in Santa Clara county-an Indian-American hub-1,91,500 people lost their jobs in the past two years. The lengthening shadows on the US economy, exacerbated by the catastrophic events of 9/11 and its repercussions on the immigration process, have cast a pall of gloom over the country. "No matter how long you stay in the US, you are always singled out; you are identified with your colour and background," says Dheeraj Bhardwaj, who is returning to his alma mater, IIT, Delhi, after working for three years in the US. "Nowhere else can one get the kind of freedom found in India," he says.

Making the decision to move back to India an easier, albeit forced, one is the backlog of green-card approvals, estimated to be above four million.

The critics of immigration have not only grown in number but are also becoming voluble. Republican John Mica of Florida and Democrat Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut have already introduced a bill in the US Congress to restrict the intra-company L-1 visa category. Joining them now is Republican Congressman from Colorado, Tom Tancredo, who has moved a bill seeking to abolish the H1-B visa category. He admits that it is not likely to pass muster. "What I hope to do is raise enough hell to generate momentum in our direction," says Tancredo.

However, the stream of returning Indians includes more than just those who went down in the bloodbath witnessed in the US job markets. Like Anil Khanna, a former colonel in the Indian Army. The Ambala resident joined his two sons, both Chicago-based software engineers, after getting a green card in 1996. Almost five years later, however, he moved back-this time to Chandigarh-to manage the India office of Seasia Consulting, a company that develops software for the family's US operations. "An easy availability of a low-cost but competent software workforce in India has been the key to our move," says the 60-year-old.

Not to mention, the environment it promises. "Once inside a software firm, you cannot make out whether you are in San Jose or Santa Clara," says N. Krishnakumar, president and CEO, Mindtree Technologies, Bangalore. "It is better to work here and see the world."

Gladwin Joseph Chakravarthi, 39, realised it too. When the forest ecologist topped the Indian Council for Agricultural Research exam more than a decade ago and won a scholarship to the US, it was as if there was no return home. "But things have changed here and it is much easier and comfortable to work in your own homeland," says the professor, who taught in Oregon State University for 12 years. The intellectual and research climate here is on a par with world standards, he adds.

"While it is true that people with specialised skills have a better chance of employability than those with general skills, they have to come at a certain compensation level," cautions Uday Chawla, partner, Heidrick and Struggles, a consultancy firm. "If not prepared, they may be in for a shock."

Money comes and money goes but John Azariah is in India to stay. And why not? The work pressure is "quite tight" and then of course there's the sentiment. After a decade working at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, the 33-year-old returned to Bangalore three years ago and has since set up his own software hotshop. Azariah smiles. "There is nothing like being home."

Krishan Khanna would vouch for that. The industrialist points out that most techies want to come back and help their homeland. "You will enjoy the thrill for a few years but after that it is the call of home," says the IITian, who is working on a programme to harness the talent from, specifically, the IITians "to make India a strong nation".

Bansal, though, is taking a small step at a time. "At the moment all of us are excited," he says of his wife and two children. "We have left our options open, depending on the experience." Bansal knows a challenge when he sees one.

— with Shilpa Rohatgi and Malini Goyal in Delhi, Stephen David in Bangalore and Ramesh Vinayak in Chandigarh