US President Barack Obama's just concluded visit has helped in breaking myths and stereotyping of India as "stealing jobs", apex IT industry body NASSCOM said today.

The biggest takeway of Obama's visit was that it would aid "changing perspectives" about India stealing jobs or being a call centre country. "It is also a learning for us of what we need to do ahead and how we need to work with partnering with companies", NASSCOM president Som Mittal said on the sidelines of a Product Conclave.

Seeking to assuage fears among Americans, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Obama's visit this weak had said that India was not in the business of stealing jobs from the US and outsourcing was raising productivity in America.

Mittal said Obama's visit was not just about signing deals, but about around 200 CEOs of companies interacting with business, expressing themselves and talking about what they did and how they saw India as a market and as a destination.

It also helped making India visible globally. "Obama has done a great job for our industry". He positioned India as a market, as a place that has emerged. "I think word would have gone out to everyone", he said.

"It is now to be seen in weeks, months to follow how all this is getting translated into real action, into real attitude change on both sides", he said.

He said though NASSCOM as a trade body did not have a direct interaction with the US President, its members were well represented in the CEO forum.

On whether the visit had allayed fears of the Indian IT industry, he said, "I think yes, there is more work to do.

There is much better realisation, that we are adding value".

There was also a message that the sterotypes and myths have to be broken and that it was a "two-way traffic". India needed to open and they were opening up and vice versa.

To a question whether the industry sought to ensure a more inclusive policy going forward, Mittal said that an indication had been made through the President and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement.

"I think, it was part of government discussion. Both are committed to protectionism not being way forward and open markets will lead the way."

He said the Prime Minister's statement that India was not stealing jobs sent out a message. So did comments of some companies like Boeing and GE that were winning export deals and creating jobs back in the US because their design work was done here, cutting down on the time cycle.

"India as a market and India as a place to leverage global talent is well established", he said.

"But we have to ensure that our perspective goes down to grassroot as well", he said.

"We are creating jobs and the message has to go", Mittal said, adding everyone had to do their bit to percolate this message and break the steretotypes surrounding India.

On whether Obama's visit had led to some assurance, he said, "We are assured our perspectives are understood, our business model is understood and we hope that this message by media and by administration is carried back. We hope that the Congress and people there understand."

But he was quick to add that just one visit would not mean the task was over. It would require the continuous support of administration and everyone to change the stereotype.

Mittal said Indian companies were creating and saving jobs. Companies which were acquired with 700-800 people had grown to employ 5,000 people, much of it being local hiring.

IT majors like TCS, Infosys and Wipro had been setting up centres and hiring people. The ability to hire and assimilate foreigners into our cultural ethos has become easier, he said.

On the visa issue that has been plaguing the industry, he said. "The issue is not about visa and the cap on the visa but about the indirect excess scrutiny that is going on."

Even today, there were 85,000 visas under the quota and only 50,000 had been used. Last year the combined IT visa used up was only 6,000, he said.

"We should distinguish from policy and operating issue...

the policy is really about border security while the curent issue on visa is an operating issue and we will deal with it with the consulate", he said.

He said much of the issue had been driven by sentiment over loss of jobs across the world, especially the US. "The recovery of jobs is going to take time and I think we have to be sensitive to that matter and we think and we all wish that US recovery happens faster.I think this will happen when dreams of US doubling exports will happen", he said.

On the IT industry's guidance, he said the industry was looking to achieve the higher end of its guidance of 13 to 15 per cent. It would review its projection in December.

Mittal said this was a defining moment for IT product companies in the country with the opening up of markets, connectivity getting larger and government taking measures to ensure that the benefits of growth and technology reaches all sections of society.

"So, if 2,50,000 villages are going to get connected, which we are very sure will happen down the next three years and UID project coming in, then large number of applications and products will be required", he said.

These products are going to find place globally as well, he said. "We are clearly seeing SMEs which we have not been able to address, becoming a new market," he said

"Our forecast in the next 10 years is this industry would be around 225 billion dollars which is almost three times growth. A large part of this growth is going to come out of areas we have not done before. Product is going to play a significant role".