Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Industry / Infotech/  Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka meets Arun Jaitley
BackBack

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka meets Arun Jaitley

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka met finance minister Arun Jaitley amid industry-wide concerns over tighter visa norms in key markets like the US and layoffs in the IT sector

The meeting between Arun Jaitley and Vishal Sikka (in pic) assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later in June. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/MintPremium
The meeting between Arun Jaitley and Vishal Sikka (in pic) assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later in June. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

New Delhi: Infosys’ chief executive officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka on Monday met finance minister Arun Jaitley amid industry-wide concerns around tighter visa norms in key markets like the US and layoffs in the sector.

The 45-minute meeting, between Jaitley and Sikka accompanied by other top company officials, also assumes significance as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the US later this month.

Over the past few months, Indian information technology (IT) companies are confronted with closer scrutiny and tighter visa norms in the US, a market that accounts for nearly 60% of India’s IT exports.

According to the people familiar with the development, Infosys had sought the meeting. However, Sikka declined to comment on the proceedings after the meeting. The company’s chief operating officer (COO) U.B. Pravin Rao was also present at the meeting.

Asked about concerns around layoffs in the sector, Sikka said the company has announced 10,000 jobs in the US and continues to hire in India as well. “We have announced 10,000 jobs in the US and we are continuing to hire lots of jobs in India. I think that the future is all about innovation," he said. He added that Indian IT companies are creating “tremendous amount of value" in the US.

With rising protectionism across markets like Singapore and Australia, companies are beginning to adjust their business models to reduce their dependence on visas and hiring more locals instead. The ramp-up in local hiring is also aimed at placating the Donald Trump administration in the US that has been critical of outsourcing firms.

The US had accused Infosys and its peers Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Cognizant of unfairly cornering the lion’s share of US H-1B work visas, taking jobs away from American workers. The tightening of visa norms not only pushes up operational costs for these technology firms, but also makes movement of skilled workforce difficult.

Infosys has already announced that it would hire 10,000 Americans over the next two years and set up four innovation hubs in the US. However, it wasn’t clear if the discussions included goods and services tax-Network (GSTN) at the meeting. Infosys had received the contract for GSTN, which is responsible for providing the technology backbone for the new indirect tax regime and connecting the databases of states and the centre.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Industry News, Banking News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 12 Jun 2017, 08:58 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Infotech Stocks
₹1,547.25-0.26%
₹1,484.10.99%
₹4,928.750.15%
₹3,837.51.2%
₹472.21.66%
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App