Indian tech can soar over h 1b hurdle

Indian tech can soar over h 1b hurdle

President Donald Trump's executive order to review the US H-1B visa programme for technology workers has not quite set the cat among Indian IT pigeons. Existing rules have not changed. But the order “Buy American and Hire American“could mean fewer opportunities to send Indian nationals, the largest group of H-1B recipients annually, to the US. Federal agencies have been directed to “suggest reforms to ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most skilled and highest paid petition beneficiaries“, putting IT companies on notice for changes ahead. These companies must swiftly reinvent themselves to become more innovative for a challenging environment, given that governments want to keep the interests of their country and people at the centre.
Last year, UK tightened visa rules that include the intra-company transfer route largely used by Indian IT companies. Australia has tightened its visa rules and New Zealand will follow suit. Such curtailment of access to Indian manpower in their export markets only nudges Indian companies to move rapidly along a path they already have started treading. The focus has to shift from low-cost manpower to high productivity. Artificial intelligence and automation already threaten to eat up much of the work Indian IT performs with its H-1B manpower. So, Indian IT services companies must raise their game, acquiring serious consulting capability, entering new, cutting-edge areas of business such as big data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT), and deploying high-end computing of their own, incorporating artificial intelligence and automation, to take on the competition. It helps that artificial intelligence is now available on tap from the cloud, thanks to business conduct innovation by companies like IBM and Microsoft.
The salaries these companies offer reflects the quality of their manpower. Legislative proposals seek a minimum salary of $130,000 to qualify for H-1B. Indian IT companies should take it as a challenge to reorganise their business, to more than comply with such stipulations.