Google's had a tough time finding employees in India, despite a market full of "innately smart people," as native Indian board member Ram Shriram told investors at a conference last week. But it just found one solid manager with a proven background — at Yahoo.

Google tapped Yahoo's India CTO, Prasad Bharat Ram, as its head of R&D. The hire looks like not only a chance to steal talent from the company's main rival, but also a way to bring someone who could pull in more researchers. Google hopes Ram can take its 100-odd research staffers and reproduce his role building a team of 750 for Yahoo.

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, India finds that three in four of its engineering graduates lack the technical skill, English fluency, or teamwork ability needed in engineering jobs. That's a minor reason that Americans are working in India.

Google caches Yahoo!'s top geek in India [DNA India]
Skills Gap Hurts Technology Boom in India [NY Times]