Protectionist US measures not likely to end soon: Nasscom

High unemployment levels in US leading to pressure

PTI | November 24, 2010



Industry body Nasscom today said the US' protectionist measures are not likely to end soon as high unemployment levels continue to remain a concern.

"The current economic recovery (in America) would still put pressure (to continue with the protectionist measures) because areas like construction, manufacturing and retail, from where jobs actually went, are not picking up. So given the new election dynamics, we would think this rhetoric (protectionism) or concerns would not go away," Nasscom President Som Mittal told PTI.

However, Mittal added that the US would continue to remain the biggest revenue contributor to the USD 60 billion Indian IT industry. In the first half of the current fiscal US market grew more than 20 per cent for us (Indian IT firms) and it was significant.

Before the US President Barack Obama's visit to India, the US government had hiked fee for H1-B and L1 visas, a move that could have adverse impact on the domestic IT industry, which sends many highly-skilled Indians to work there.

But during the Obama visit, Indian authorities gave their prospective, which was accepted that doing business is a two way street and protectionism is not the way to go.

"The US government will try and change its stereotypes and we need to help them in projecting ourselves in the right picture where people do not correlate the work that we do with the job losses," Mittal added.

When asked about the opportunities in other emerging markets, Mittal said, "There are huge opportunities for us as we (IT industry) are getting mature and now moving into new markets like Continental Europe, African markets, Latin America. These are new opportunities we should tap but its not at the expense of the US market."

Mittal expects IT revenues to grow 13 to 15 per cent and from about five per cent last year. He expects export revenue of USD 56 billion-USD 57 billion for FY11.

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