BHOPAL: They left their native places to make a life but are now returning to save their lives. Not only this, but their spending during 'Work From Home (WFH)' is also adding to the economy of Madhya Pradesh.

It has been more than a year that Saransh Nagaich has been working from home from Jatara, in Tikamgarh district. He is a software professional with head office in Bengaluru. He gets Rs 1.55 lakh per month. ìThereís enormous saving in WFH. When I was working in Bengaluru, more than half my salary was spent there on food, rent, transportation, weekend entertainment and so forth. These expenses are saved here,î said Saransh. ìIíve saved so much that Iím planning to buy a luxury car soon,î he added. Moreover, the money that he is spending now adds to the economy of Tikamgarh district.

There are hundreds of such young professionals who have returned to their native places in Madhya Pradesh and are now contributing to the local economy.

Vipul Poddar from Indore works for an international airlines and has been in Indore for almost two years. His salary is more than Rs 2 lakh per month. "Whatever Iíve spent in these two years went to the traders and businessmen in Indore," says Poddar. ìNo doubt, I saved a lot which I couldnít have done during my stay in Mumbai,î he adds. Now, Poddar plans to buy some land in a suburb in Indore as part of his post-retirement plan.

Jitendra Dhakd from Neemuch, an IT professional, has started focussing on his parental agriculture business. He has prepared a mobile application for the sale of agriculture produce for him and other farmers like him. Moreover, he is utilising his tech knowledge for betterment of the farmers around him and teaching them innovative ways of agriculture and marketing. ìI was given Rs 2 lakh to set up my WFH environment by my company,î says Pratik, who works for Amazon. He bought the computer and other office-related accessories from Bhopal.

Time to focus on IT hubs

The state government has ambitious plans and has set up IT hubs and IT parks at several places in Madhya Pradesh. However, there is no data on young professionals from the state working outside the state. ëItís the right time for state government to market its IT hub and parks. Big IT giants that have been hesitant in setting up their offices in the state can rethink because of the situation created by the Covid pandemic,í feels an IT expert