Facing rough weather amid large-scale layoffs and visa curbs in the U.S., the Indian IT industry body Nasscom has stepped up its lobbying with the American lawmakers significantly with a more than one-third increase in money spent on such activities.
According to the latest lobbying disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Senate, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) paid a total amount of $1,50,000 (about ₹1 crore) to its two registered lobbyists in the first quarter of 2017.
This marks a significant rise from $1,10,000 paid to the two lobbyists in the previous quarter ended December 2016.
Among the two lobbyists, The Lande Group was paid $ 50,000 in January-March quarter of 2017 — the same amount as in the four quarters of 2016.
But the other lobbyist, Wexler & Walker, a unit of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, LLC, was paid $100,000 in the first quarter of 2017, as against $60,000 in the previous three-month period and in many of the previous quarters.
As per the lobbying disclosure report, the “specific lobbying issues” undertaken by this lobbyist included those related to immigration. The “general issues” included tax and trade matters.
The houses of Congress and federal agencies with whom it lobbied on behalf of Nasscom, included the U.S. Senate and the US House of Representatives.
