The Hindu Business Line : Silent lobbying to counter IT `backlash'

THE Indian IT industry received a double whammy in the last couple of weeks: On November 13, the Executive Director of the Indian American Forum for Political Education and former staff director of the Indian Caucus, Narayan Keshavan, died of a heart attack in New York City just after defending the outsourcing of jobs to India on CNN's `Lou Dobbs Tonight.' Almost exactly a week later, Indiana State's Governor and Democrat candidate for elections next November, Mr Joe Kerman, cancelled a $15-million contract between a State agency and a subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

In a statement, Nasscom said that such moves "inhibit free trade in the sector," and that it would continue to engage in dialogue with the US policy makers and opinion leaders. With the outsourcing market expected to grow in value from $19 billion to $24 billion in the next five years, it is going to take more than just dialogue to stem the backlash against Indian companies — particularly in an election year.

"The situation we're seeing today in the US is what happened in manufacturing 15 years ago," a spokesperson for TCS told Business Line. "Except that this time, it's the knowledge workers who are losing jobs, so they're more vocal about it. Plus, they're going into an election year, so there's a big emotional appeal to the issue: a story about a guy with 15 years' experience losing his job has more appeal than one on GE saving $15 million because of outsourcing to India."

Certainly, it would have helped to have Keshavan appear on CNN to condemn Mr Kerman's move; Keshavan was a long-time player in the Indo-US relations, with access at the highest levels of both governments.

But in recent months, without much fanfare, a coalition of Indian Government officials, business groups and wealthy Indian-Americans have quietly launched an extensive lobbying campaign to counteract the backlash against India, reported The Wall Street Journal. The Indian Government has hired several reputed Washington lobbying and law firms to develop a campaign that will stress the benefits of closer economic ties with India, and lobby the Congress. The Indian Embassy is also reported to have hired an international adviser, while Nasscom has hired public relations and lobbying firm, Hill & Knowlton.

"We're trying to get our point across in a foreign country: so it's not about TCS vs Infosys vs Wipro," the TCS spokesperson said. "We need to rise above our differences and make a concerted effort."

Still, it is an uphill task: The Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, is pushing States to pass legislation that will block Government contract work from going overseas, and is pressing Congress to limit visas to hi-tech workers. A half-dozen Bills also propose limiting visas: one Bill would require companies using H-1B visas to prove that Americans are not available for a job, and Republican Representative Mr Tom Tancredo is asking for the elimination of the H-1B programme. Nine other States are also considering anti-outsourcing legislation.

The general approach of Indian IT firms has been to keep a low profile to avoid drawing more anger, and to work through companies and associations, besides lobbying Congress. Nasscom is also urging Indian-Americans to get more involved politically.

But some experts caution that lobbying won't get us far: "We tend to think that lobbying is the way to do everything — but we really need to manage our expectations of what we can achieve," said an IT expert. "We have done a reasonable job of it in the last 18 months or so, but we have a long way to go."

More can be gained by sponsoring research into the economics of outsourcing and offshoring with influential think-tanks and academic organisations, and making that knowledge public, the expert added.

As for TCS, it will continue its efforts with Nasscom and the other players: "We know we cannot expect a rational response, as this involves loss of jobs and it is the election year," the spokesperson said.

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