By Mike Lockey

London, Nov 26: An unprecedented battle for top British Asian brains has recently started in the UK with companies there facing a tough fight to attract the brightest and the best , as Indian companies look to hire the cream from under the noses of the locals.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the information technology arm of one of India's largest steel companies, has become the first Indian multi-national to introduce a UK graduate scheme. The scheme involves a seven-week training schedule in Kerala and which would be followed by six months in Mumbai.

The selected graduates are to be paid 25,000 pounds - the average British salary - and all travel and accommodation costs are to be covered by Tata.

Furthermore, the graduates are guaranteed a job at the end of the training in any one of a number of the various Tata companies. So, that will mean employment in industries ranging from cars to chemicals to power generation to steel - to name but some of Tata's near100 global interests.

Board member of an organisation called Tie UK, Alpesh Patel, has no doubt that the Tata move is but the beginning of a trend and he told the British newspaper Eastern Eye that "such schemes will multiply at a fast pace".

Patel should know, as he has already been involved in various projects connecting the British and Indian business communities. As he pointed out: "India is at the centre of the world's business universe right now and everyone wants to get out there fast. Such schemes are not only a sign of how far Indian companies have come, but also a sign of the global competition for talent. Such programmes will attract the typical new graduates hungry for where the action is".

One such graduate is Deepak Thakrar, 24, one of the first six trainees and who left Britain for India on November 11th. He gave up a job with financial giant J P Morgan to apply for the Tata scheme and was one of those chosen from 100 finalists.

He told the Eastern Eye how and why he did it: "I had to sit through a very tough aptitude test, including questions on mathematics, systems, logic etc. The next stage was an interview with a three-member panel. I feel lucky to have got through... I felt the urge to pursue a career that would enable me to be part of India's future".

Deepak Thakrar is only one of many British Asians who, surely, feel the same way and, now, if they are good enough and lucky enough, have a new and exciting way to fulfil their ambitions. (ANI)