Beyond Rhetoric

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: As Barack Obama gets busy with the nuances of putting in place a new administration at the Oval Office early next year, Indian IT industry is treading a cautious path and hoping that economic pragmatism will prevail.

Industry bigwigs assure that outsourcing to Indian IT majors is “irreversible”, and it is “imperative” to bring in work efficiency and overhaul the American economy—financial and healthcare sector in particular. Finance minister P Chidambaram’s assertion that Obama’s comments on outsourcing of services should not bother India has found an echo from industry stalwarts. Nasscom chairman Ganesh Natarajan argues that IT and business services segments in India are integral to the value chain of most American and European customers. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any tax or any other prohibitive measure would be taken. On the contrary, the H1B visa was earlier criticised; now many technology companies feel that it’s important to increase H1B visas, to meet the current requirements and maintain the competitiveness, says Vijay Rangineni, COO, Satyam BPO.

“Obama is a new generation leader, who is internet-savvy. Therefore, the notion that his presidency will spell doom for the Indian IT industry is a myth,” says Roopen Roy, managing director, Deloitte Consulting. There is widespread speculation that Indian techies will be in demand with an increase in H1B visa programme. Efforts by the President-elect Obama to make healthcare affordable could also see a strong demand for Indian generics as well as generic versions of biotech drugs. In addition, optimists are predicting a strong collaboration building between research communities of the two countries in the realm of stem cell research.

“Outsourcing is seen as one of the ways to go forward to bring in operational efficiency in the American economy,” says Raman Roy, managing director, Quatrro BPO Solutions. His prognosis is that Indian techies will be in great demand. Hence an increase in H1B visas was inevitable. A point to note is that fewer students over the past 15-20 years have studied technology in the US universities.

Therefore, as the profit goes down for American corporates, the only option is low-cost offshoring, says Hari Rajagopalachari, executive-director, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).