Sign Of Things To Come? IT Companies Should Stop Sending Indians On H-1B Visa, Start Hiring Americans: Narayana Murthy

Amid rising concerns over the impact of Indian techies under the new US administration Infosys co-founder, N R Narayana Murthy, has suggested that Indian software companies need to stop sending people on H-1B visas and focus on local hiring in the US.

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Stating that by and large Indian mindset is always to take the "soft option", Murthy said becoming multi- cultural is not easy and is a "very, very hard option".

Also Read: Donald Trump, Oracle Lawsuit And H-1B Visa, Woes For Indian IT Companies In US Are Only Growing

"They (Indian software companies) must recruit American residents in the US, Canadians in Canada, British people in Britain etc. That's the only way, we can become a true multi-national company and in order to do that, we should stop using H1-B visas and sending a large number of Indians to those countries to deliver services."

He added that recruitment from colleges should be done and local people be trained to add value to Indian companies.

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The proposed overhaul of popular H-1B visa regime by US President Donald Trump has raised concerns among the Indian IT firms.

Also Read: Indian Passport Lets You Visit 46 Countries Without Visa, Is 81st Most Powerful In The World!

Also, the recent introduction of a US bill (Lofgren Bill) that proposes doubling of the minimum wages of H-1B visa holders to $130,000 from $60,000 has made the industry worried.

Any changes in the visa regime may result in higher operational costs and the shortage of skilled workers for the $110 billion Indian outsourcing industry.

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The US contributes nearly 62 per cent of the exports. Analysts are of the opinion that Indian tech companies could easily witness around 60-70 per cent rise in salaries of H-1B visa dependent workforce, leading to a 5-10 per cent hit on the margins, depending on the total base of employees currently on H-1B visas.

Also Read: India Expresses Concern After H-1B Visa Bill Is Introduced In The US Senate

Murthy said Indian companies will have to learn to work with non-Indian professionals and become more multi-cultural.

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"I think by and large, the Indian mindset is always to take the soft option. Becoming multi-cultural is a very, very hard option, it's not easy. Our managers will have to learn with non-Indian professionals, how to get the best out of them, how to work in teams that are multi-cultural, how to make sure that we understand the rules of crossing cultures," he said.

Also Read: Here Is Everything You Need To Know About The H1-B Visa And How The New Regulation Could Devastate The Indian IT Sector