Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy has come out strongly against the way Indian IT companies are looking at the H1-B dictat issued by the Donald Trump administration.

Addressing reporters he pointed out that companies who rely on government policies for their business will not be able to survive on the long run. “Companies should not rely on regulation in whatever markets they are working in and should do so within the existing constraints,” he said.

Murthy drew attention to the visa-independent business model that he had propagated in 2013 to derisk and reduce dependency on visas. “In 2013, we (Infosys) came out with a visa-independent global delivery model where we reduced the total onsite project effort from 30 per cent to just 10 per cent, which we intended to deliver by local hires,” he said. Murthy added that Infosys then had conducted several pilots and all of them were 'successful'.

Murthy also urged Boards of IT companies to take a serious effort to put the issue in the forefront. “You have to ask the Infosys board and other boards where these initiatives are. We completed about 7 or 8 pilots before I left the company. I’m sure they would have taken it forward, but you may want to ask the senior management and board of Infosys on its progress,” he said.

Indian IT companies have been facing a very high H1-B visa rejection rates since the last 3 years, according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS.

Murthy also reasoned that as unemployment levels in the US is high, the politicians have a responsibility of addressing those concerns. “Politicians in any country have the responsibility to ensure that unemployment levels in their country is as low as possible. I would accept it as reality and therefore, it’s our responsibility to come out with a mechanism whereby we reduce our dependence on visas.”

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW