Nasscom to raise outsourcing, visa issues during Obama visit

Optimistic that Indian IT industry concerns will be addressed by US President

PTI | November 4, 2010



The apex trade body Nasscom today said it will raise IT industry's concerns on visa fees hike and other anti-outsourcing measures adopted by the US during President Barack Obama's visit to India later this week.

"We will raise the issues related to Indian IT industry in the backdrop of anti-outsourcing comments by the US establishment (during Obama's visit)," Nasscom Vice President Ameet Nivsarkar told PTI.

President Obama is scheduled to arrive in India on 6th November.

"We are optimistic enough that the concerns and issues raised by the Indian IT industry will be taken care of by the US President Obama during his visit to India," he said.

Earlier this year, the US government had hiked fee for H1-B and L1 visas, a move that could have adverse impact on the USD 50-billion domestic IT industry that sends many highly-skilled Indians to work there.

This was followed by Ohio state's ban on outsourcing of government IT projects, a step that further irked the Indian players. Both these moves coincide with a fragile recovery in the US economy coupled with high unemployment levels.

Indian IT sector earns more than half of its annual revenues from overseas markets, particularly the US.

Meanwhile, the country's third-largest software exporter Wipro today said that Obama's visit would help in boosting free trade as well as make collaborations in the technology space easier.

On expectations from the US President's visit, a Wipro official told PTI, "From an industry stand-point, I feel this will provide for easier trade and global collaboration in the technology space, and boost free trade and globalisation across products and services."

Nasscom has maintained that business policies should not be mixed up with political issues.

Striking an optimistic note, Nivsarkar said that since elections to the House of Representatives were over, he was expecting that several other (US anti-outsourcing) proposals were unlikely to be implemented.

He pointed out that Indian companies had always been supportive of free trade and open market policies.

On Indian companies planning overseas expansion, Nivsarkar said, "It is good that the Indian IT companies are going global and exploring new business arenas."
 

Comments

 

Other News

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

GI tags: Scaling traditional wealth into global brands

Geographical Indication (GI) tags have emerged as a powerful tool for protecting India`s cultural heritage, while creating economic opportunities for local communities. By linking products to their place of origin, GI tags preserve traditional knowledge, prevent misuse, and enhance consumer trust. They h

BMC: 207 officials in ACB net, 112 still on duty, 68 retire before justice catches up

There are significant delays in the handling of corruption cases involving officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by rights activist Jeetendra Ghadge has revealed. As of 30 April 2026, 207 BMC officials face Anti-Corruption Bureau (A

The transformation trap: Why efficiency is not innovation

Every company is transforming, or so it claims.   There was a time when the word ‘transformation’ carried weight. It signified bold strategic shifts, reinvention of business models, and breakthrough technologies that fundamentally changed how organizations created

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter