Major action by Trump administration on H1-B visa would worry India: Chief Economic Advisor
Any "serious actions" taken by the Trump Administration on the H-1B visa programme would be a cause of "worry" as a majority of Indian exports in the services sector go to the US, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said.
- Apr 25, 2017,
- Updated Apr 25, 2017 1:00 PM IST
Any "serious actions" taken by the TrumpAdministration on the H-1B visa programme would be a cause of "worry"as a majority of Indian exports in the services sector go to the US, ChiefEconomic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said.
"If there are serious actions taken it's something thatis going to kind of worry us a lot because, remember that our exports ofservices are about 40 to 45 per cent of the total exports," Subramaniantold an audience here last week.
"Something like 50 to 60 per cent of all our exports ofservices goes to the United States. So it would worry us quite a bit,?" hesaid while responding to a question on the H1-B visa during his visit at thePeterson Institute, a top American economic think-tank.
Subramanian said that India would be "okay" aslong as the visa reforms are manageable and it's keeping a close watch on it.
ARUN JAITLEY ON H-1B VISA ISSUE IN US
"Anything that is going to interfere with export growthcreates anxiety (in India). In the context of the United States, we're allwatching very carefully the H1-B visa situation,?" the Chief EconomicAdviser said.
"On the visa side, I don't know but as long as you knowwe can keep this thing manageable. You know it should be okay,?" he said.
During his US visit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alsotaken up the the H-1B issue with the American side and highlighted thecontribution Indian companies and professionals are making to the US economy.
President Donald Trump had earlier this month signed anexecutive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop its"abuse" and ensure that the visas are given to the "most-skilledor highest paid" petitioners, a decision that would impact India's USD 150billion IT industry.
The Indian IT industry expressed serious concerns over thisas these visas were mainly used by domestic IT professionals for short-termwork in America.
US MARKET ACCOUNTS FOR 60% REVENUE OF INDIAN IT INDUSTRY
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies toemploy foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical ortechnical expertise in specialised fields. Indian technology companies dependon it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year for their US operations.
The US market accounts for about 60 per cent of the revenueof the Indian IT industry.
Reforming the H-1B visa system was one of the major electionpromises of Trump. As per several US reports, a majority of the H-1B visasevery year are grabbed by Indian IT professionals.
India accounts for the highest pool of qualified ITprofessionals, whose services go a long way in making American companiesglobally competitive.
Any "serious actions" taken by the TrumpAdministration on the H-1B visa programme would be a cause of "worry"as a majority of Indian exports in the services sector go to the US, ChiefEconomic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said.
"If there are serious actions taken it's something thatis going to kind of worry us a lot because, remember that our exports ofservices are about 40 to 45 per cent of the total exports," Subramaniantold an audience here last week.
"Something like 50 to 60 per cent of all our exports ofservices goes to the United States. So it would worry us quite a bit,?" hesaid while responding to a question on the H1-B visa during his visit at thePeterson Institute, a top American economic think-tank.
Subramanian said that India would be "okay" aslong as the visa reforms are manageable and it's keeping a close watch on it.
ARUN JAITLEY ON H-1B VISA ISSUE IN US
"Anything that is going to interfere with export growthcreates anxiety (in India). In the context of the United States, we're allwatching very carefully the H1-B visa situation,?" the Chief EconomicAdviser said.
"On the visa side, I don't know but as long as you knowwe can keep this thing manageable. You know it should be okay,?" he said.
During his US visit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alsotaken up the the H-1B issue with the American side and highlighted thecontribution Indian companies and professionals are making to the US economy.
President Donald Trump had earlier this month signed anexecutive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop its"abuse" and ensure that the visas are given to the "most-skilledor highest paid" petitioners, a decision that would impact India's USD 150billion IT industry.
The Indian IT industry expressed serious concerns over thisas these visas were mainly used by domestic IT professionals for short-termwork in America.
US MARKET ACCOUNTS FOR 60% REVENUE OF INDIAN IT INDUSTRY
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies toemploy foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical ortechnical expertise in specialised fields. Indian technology companies dependon it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year for their US operations.
The US market accounts for about 60 per cent of the revenueof the Indian IT industry.
Reforming the H-1B visa system was one of the major electionpromises of Trump. As per several US reports, a majority of the H-1B visasevery year are grabbed by Indian IT professionals.
India accounts for the highest pool of qualified ITprofessionals, whose services go a long way in making American companiesglobally competitive.