a3. As I said all smoke and mirrors. They have to appease the local populace. But practically not possible to do at this time. But step back and think why we have this scenario right now. If Indian CPL holders were not too picky about starting off on the ATR's, CRJ's etc. expat F/O's would never have been a reality in India. Correct me if I am wrong but the initial F/O's were only for the smaller size a/c and then it slowly opened the door for all a/c. So maybe a little introspection from the pilots themselves will lead us to the real cause for the scenario.
Even now there is this amazing sense of entitlement amongst fresh guys that they HAVE to get on the Boeing or Airbus. I'm tired of telling everyone I come across that grab whetever they give you cos pretty soon it's gonna be slim pickings for everybody.