Is the US trying to negatively portray India’s IT services segment?

MUMBAI, INDIA: The US government’s move to open an investigation against Infosys and TCS for alleged violations of H1-B visa rules has not gone down well with industry body Nasscom.

According to a report in New York Times, The Department of Labor has opened the investigation against TCS and Infosys for possible violations of rules for visas for foreign technology workers under contracts they held with an electric utility Southern California Edison.

Both Infosys and TCS are among the top 5 IT services behemoths in the $146 billion IT services industry that earns $98 billion from exports alone.

In a strongly worded statement, Nasscom said, “Is the US trying to portray the Indian IT services sector negatively without paying attention to facts and logic?”

R Chandrasekhar, President, Nasscom said that the Indian IT services firms have always complied with the US visa regulations, and with respect to any requests for information.

Chandrasekhar lamented that it was unfortunate that attempts were being made in some quarters to portray the contribution of Indian IT services companies in a negative light.

Such efforts would have serious detrimental impact on the strategic and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship that the two countries are striving to nurture, he said.

Chandrasekhar asserted that the Indian services sector has made significant contributions in the US in terms of job creation, social security and CSR activities.

"It is important that the people across the board are made more aware. We are stepping up efforts to engage with US government and lawmakers," he told news agency PTI.

Besides, Indian IT firms have contributed hugely to maintaining global competitiveness of US companies, in turn helping them to create jobs for Americans in the US and this is well documented and supported by published data, he said.

It must be recalled that the Labor Department initiated the investigation after the New York Times reported that Walt Disney had issued pink slips to about 250 employees, and their jobs were transferred to Indian immigrants on H1-B visas.