Infosys’ Vishal Sikka says Indian IT industry not dependent on H-1B visas

Advertisement
Dismissing the general impression that US President Donald Trump’s stance on H1-B visa will hit the Indian IT sector, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka said the industry was not dependent on it.
Advertisement

Sikka said Indian IT industry is not overly dependent on H-1B visas for its business mode.

"It is wrong to say and to think that we are dependent on H-1Bs. For example, if you look over the last 10 years, there are about 65,000, something like that, H-1B visas granted every year. That means over 10 years it is 650,000. And we collectively employ millions of people. Infosys alone has 200,000 employees. TCS close to double that number and so on," 50-year-old Sikka said in an interview to PTI.

He said apart from the H1-B visas, it has always been about delivering value.

"The Indian IT industry has delivered a tremendous amount of value, especially in the US. But the nature of that value delivery is changing dramatically. Just as in the past it was easier and it was possible to move jobs to India or to companies where large amount of work would happen in India. So, these kind of a global delivery model or onsite, offshore and so forth...More and more of the work can now be done with the automation," he said.

Advertisement

Moreover, Sikka said the Indian IT industry has contributed a lot to the US economy and it will do even more.

"We are committed to the US economy. So, I think that in addition, beyond hiring and the local economy and the contribution and so forth, it is about innovation. It is about creating jobs with new kinds of skills," Sikka said.

{{}}