The Hindu Business Line : `Bush win will ensure continuity'

THE Indian IT industry has welcomed the re-election of Mr George W. Bush as the US President. The National Association of Software and Services Association (Nasscom) hoped that the policy makers in his administration would take cognizance of the economics of off-shoring, and be supportive of visa issues.

"Software exports to the US from India account for 68 per cent of our total software exports and have been growing at around 30 per cent a year. We are confident the growth momentum would continue," Mr Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom said here.

Calling Mr Bush a proponent of free trade, Nasscom exuded confidence that he would continue with his pro-trade stance during his second term.

Citing reports by various think-tanks and academic institutions which showed the US economy gaining by off-shoring work, Nasscom said that job loss, if any, was very small. It further hoped that Bush administration would be supportive of visa issues for unhindered movement of professionals, who played a key role in contributing to the growth and development of the US economy.

Many companies stated that the outcome of the US elections would not impact the fortunes of the sector. "There will not be any change... Outsourcing will continue irrespective of the leadership as it is a commercial decision and not a policy decision. However, the re-election of Mr Bush would bring a continuity," the President and CEO of Wipro Spectramind, Mr Raman Roy, said.

According to Mr Arvind Thakur, CEO of NIIT Technologies Ltd, the business value of outsourcing was compelling. "The elections will not change the momentum of outsourcing, either way. It does not make any difference."BPO company eMR Technologies Ventures that plans to raise its headcount to 2,500 professionals over the next two years, said that it was business as usual for the industry.

"None of our prospective customers have any concerns on outsourcing. The Indian IT industry has grown and cannot be ignored. With US presidential elections, nothing much has changed," Mr Rohit Arora, Chairman of eMR Technology Ventures said.

Xansa India's Executive Chairman, Mr Saurabh Srivastava, felt that the Bush administration was committed to free trade and, therefore, his second term as President augurs well for the industry"The Bush administration understands that outsourcing is good for America," he said.