Offshoring bill is an unfortunate move by the US government

As the US and India work tow-ards deeper trade and political relations,
will this bill hamper the activities in any way?

The US India relationship is strong. In any trade or economic relationship,
such issues do come up. In fact in some ways this reflects the strong
interdependence of the two economies and the deep trade ties. The challenge is
to resolve this in a manner that is beneficial to both sides and also seen to be
beneficial to all. This is possible and will happen.

The bill is unfortunate and seems to address the needs of a domestic
constituency. Elections may be one of the reasons behind the bill, but may not
be the only one. However it only impact a small portion of the business.

Can it be a blessing in disguise for the Indian BPOs, as
it is not strategically correct to get business from a single country?

The bill notwithstanding, the Indian IT, ITES and BPO industry global market
share is too dependent on a few Countries. There is no doubt that there is a
need for diversification and the need to develop new markets and new regions.

Is this against the global economy concept? If yes, can we
raise a voice against it?

For the past many years, India was looking to the US as a leader in the
concept of globalization, market reform and deregulation. This move coming on
the top of other protectionism measures seem to lead to questions within the
minds of many. While in the case of manufacturing, there is always the WTO to
fall back on; and this happened in case of the 2001 steel tariffs, the GATS
negotiations are not as advan-ced. CII will continue to addr-ess this issue with
policy markets in the US and other countries.

Is India a potential threat for developed countries? Especi-ally
given the fact that we have both–manpower and quality deliverables.

India is not a threat. This is not about threat or displace-ment.
It has been definitively proved that outsourcing is good for the host country
and good for global development. India is actually an ally in imp-roving
productivity, enlarging markets and creating value added jobs.

CII believes that the current mindset against outsourcing
will slowly but surely be replaced, once the true benefits of the process are
fully understood and more importantly, communicated by policy makers to their
constituents.

What do you think India can do as a part of the global
economy?

To address the issue against outsourcing, a lot is being done already. This
has to be contin-ued. Policy makers have to be sensitized. As Minister of Com-munications,
IT and Disinvest-ment, Arun Shourie said that we have to come together with
other countries and collectively take up this issue. The benefits of outsourcing
need to be communicated. Those against this must be engaged in discu-ssions and
debate in a non-controversial manner. Compa-nies that benefit must be encouraged
to communicate the benefits.

Can we foresee similar regula-tions from other developed
countries?

It remains to be seen how other countries will react. In the short term, we
may perh-aps see some other policy initiatives given the large number of
countries that are going to the polls as it may seem to be a measure to protect
jobs. In many cases the regulations in the US are not applicable. Even if so,
this would be only short term.