IT industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) is working closely with the U.S. government to change its perception that Indian firms and workers take away most of the jobs in the U.S. information technology sector.
According to Nasscom, Indian IT companies take less than 12% of the 65,000 H-1B visas. More than 70% of the visas are given to Indians, but not to Indian IT firms. “There is a shortage of talent in the U.S. and Indians or Indian IT firms do not take away U.S. jobs. We are asking for a level-playing field and not for special treatment at all,” Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji told The Hindu .
According to data with the U.S. Department of State and Department of Labour, there will be a shortage of over two million digitally skilled workers by 2020 in the U.S.
Nasscom has roped in Spencer Abraham, chairman and CEO of strategic consulting firm, The Abraham Group, to change the perception of the U.S. government towards the $180 billion Indian IT industry.
Exciting year
According to Nasscom, 2018-19 was an exciting year for the industry, as the export sector crossed $137 billion of revenue and marginally grew above Nasscom’s guidance of 7-9%. Nasscom president Debjani Ghosh said, “There was a 9.2% growth in IT exports. So, we are doing phenomenally well in all the countries that we are in and we are expanding our footprint across the world.”
