The Indian infotech industry, which is experiencing a setback with the slowdown in the United States, is expected to bounce back in the next two years, says Bala V Balachandran, professor of accounting, information and management and director-accounting research centre, Kellogg School of Management. Balachandran is also founder and honorary dean of the Great Lakes Institute of Management.
On the sidelines of a conference in the city on Monday, Balachandran told FE, ?The US is the major customer base for Indian IT companies and it is not just a matter of a few quarters. It is only when a new government in the US will assume power by June 2009, that we will see a change. Once the economy booms and the Indian rupee touches Rs 45 versus the dollar, which will happen in about two years’ time, we will see the IT industry getting back into shape.” He added that it is the Iraq war and the sub-prime crisis in the US that has changed the entire world?s economy. Things might change by November this year when the elections are over and the economy starts picking up again in June 2009.
Speaking on the impact of the H1-B visas issue, where two US senators had asked for clarifications on hiring employees in the US from India, which has been largely related to a political turn with the US elections around the corner, the professor said, ?Indian IT companies will find one way or the other to reach the US if it is necessary for them. These companies might open a development centre where they can hire Indian employees under other visas. ?