TCS says is ready if war breaks out

MUMBAI: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest software services

firm, said on Wednesday some potential clients were cutting short or postponing

visits because of the threat of war, but existing business had not been hurt.

Existing clients are more interested in TCS's preparedness if war breaks out

between India and Pakistan, said S Ramadorai, TCS chief executive. He said a

plan was in place to ensure minimal downtime if there were a crisis.

Existing clients are not panicking but taking advice, he told a news

conference. "Nobody has pulled back anywhere because there is a crisis or

impending crisis." "We need to communicate an honest and correct

perception, and not say that there is no war or no threat. We should be very

focused on what we are talking of -- preparedness in the event of a

crisis."

TCS, a unit of the Tata group, India's second-largest business conglomerate

by sales, employs nearly 19,000 people and serves 1,000 clients across 55

countries. Thirty-seven percent of its employees are based overseas, while

others work from software development centers all over India.

The company's crisis plan includes moving key people working on critical

aspects of client support and product management out of India at short notice to

client locations, Ramadorai said. The United States, Britain and other Western

nations have urged their nationals to leave India, fearing war in the region.

India and Pakistan have been locked in a tense military stand-off for nearly

six months and show little signs of compromising despite intense diplomatic

efforts to draw them back from the brink of war.

India's National Association of Software and Services Companies said on

Tuesday software exports could be affected if the stand-off between India and

Pakistan does not ease soon. Software exports totaled $7.5 billion last year,

which is about 16 percent of India's total exports and the fastest-growing

segment.