Between 2008 and 2030 the economy of South Asia is expected to grow at an average of 5% per annum. Such growth rates can only be sustained if adequate supplies of manpower are available. The projected increases in population could lead to a pattern of emigration followed by return, thereby propagating temporary migration – particularly of the younger cohorts – from South Asia to the OECD, unless the higher education sectors of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh absorb them for quality education and equip them with the skills that their own labour markets require. While the male-female distribution is expected to be roughly the same in all three countries by 2030, India has been projected to enjoy a “demographic dividend” while facing a high rate of graduate unemployment co-existing with skill shortages in sectors such as IT, education, health, insurance, heavy engineering, civil aviation, oil and gas.