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India Dispatch: Until recently, an Indian girl wanting to get married would see a man living overseas as a good catch. But times are changing fast.

Prospective brides are rejecting NRI grooms mainly based in Europe and the Gulf.

Until recently, an Indian girl wanting to get married would see a man living overseas as a good catch. But times are changing fast.

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Thanks to economic gloom and doom outside India, so called non-resident Indian (NRI) grooms are in less demand because they are seen as less prosperous.

"In recent months, about 50 per cent of our website users have started to specify they don't want any NRI grooms," said Gourav Rakshit, the business director for Shaadi.com, an online matrimonial portal. "Normally around 30 per cent of the total users opt for this, but there has been a significant increase we have noticed in the last few months."

Indian women are keen to safeguard their future, and a groom with uncertain economic prospects would not be desirable.

"We saw similar behaviour during the last recession. This time round, people in India have noticed the European downturn and its effect on jobs and prosperity. We are seeing brides rejecting NRI grooms mainly based in Europe and the Gulf," he said.

Eurostat, the EU statistics office, said GDP in the euro zone rose by just 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the April to June period. The figure was sharply down on the 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter figures of the previous year. That is in stark contrast to India's GDP, which grew 7.7 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

The matrimonial website reported more families looking for grooms based in India because the country is seen as having better prospects now than troubled Europe.

"Job prospects in India are much better than in Europe, both short and long-term," said Arun Singh, an India senior economist for Dun and Bradstreet. "Yes there is a slight dip in the job market, but this is merely a reflection on what is going on elsewhere, not a true picture of India's growth prospects," he said.

But even those living abroad seem to want their partners living in India, Mr Rakshit said. "People in the Gulf are increasingly looking for India-based spouses to safeguard their future," he added.

In addition to geographical locations, certain professions fell out of vogue on the website. "Financial professionals are now unpopular, and the next least popular is software engineers. This is because these jobs are often seen as volatile," Mr Rakshit explained.

Many Indians living abroad are facing declining salaries, and even unemployment. That has encouraged more of them to move back to India. "Many NRIs are now moving back, which could increase their attractiveness to brides. Many India-based professionals might be as well-paid as their overseas counterparts, with a more stable future," said Mr Rakshit.

Economic woe is good for the matchmaking business in India, if the professional Cupids are to be believed. According to figures from Shaadi.com, courting increases during times of fiscal hardship.

"Every time there is a recession, or even a hint of economic downturn, traffic and activity on our portal increase massively. I guess in India, we still believe [in] sharing the financial burden, and this is why the number of marriages increases during tough times," said Mr Rakshit.

Economic downturn has been biting hard across Europe. In the UK, the unemployment figures have reached a 17-year high with more than 2.6 million people out of work.

But not everyone thinks about marriage as safeguarding future.

"Marriage for Indians is often seen as business transaction," said Gaurav, a student from Mumbai who preferred not to give his last name.

"It shouldn't be this way, we should have a right to choose freely who we love," he said.