Obama as US President: What's good & bad for India

BANGALORE, INDIA: Is the re-election of US President Barack Obama good for IT industry? Yes and No, if you ask the IT leaders in India.

"Not the best news for India or the IT outsourcing industry. However, we need to understand how much of the election rhetoric continues into 2013 and that will determine the full implications to us," Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGate, was quoted as saying in the media.

His concern is that the deficit and jobs will continue (in the US) and that would result in continuation of economic sluggishness.

However, Nasscom president Som Mittal welcomed Obama's re-election. India and the United States have to collaborate in many ways, including cybersecurity. So, they were hoping for comprehensive changes in the immigration policies of the US, he said.

"US does have a huge impact on the world's economy. When US does well, the rest of the world, too, does well. When growth gets back, jobs will be back. We work for the US economy in many ways. We have solutions to many of their problems. We hope the (US) Congress would play a more constructive role this time."

He also said that they were expecting a service visa, like an extended work permit, from the US, as how the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, China, Japan and India have.

The reaction of N Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD TCS was more balanced. "Now the focus will be on driving economic growth, which will lead to increased prosperity and greater job creation in the US, as well as act as a catalyst for growth across the world. Technology will play a strong role in driving the next phase of growth and Indian IT companies will have opportunity to play a significant role to partner with US companies to achieve this. This will lead to further job creation in the US and other parts of the world."