Bisheshwar Mishra / New Delhi
The noted jurist and nominated Rajya Sabha MP K T S Tulsi said in Rajya Sabha that India’s Information Technology (IT) sector was on the verge of losing 37 lakh jobs due to tightening of H1-B visa regime in the United States and also due to increasing industry-wide automation on account of cyber security issues.
Raising this issue during zero hour yesterday, Tulsi had lamented that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had let go the opportunity of raising the issue of H1-B with President Donald Trump during his visit and meeting with him. This is despite the fact that prior to Mr. Modi’s visit, the External Affairs Minister, Shrimati Sushma Swaraj had told the media that the Prime Minister would voice his concerns, he said.
He said that according to “a report in The Times of India on the 22nd April, 2017 at least half of India’s 37 lakh IT services’ workforce is likely to become irrelevant in the next three to four years.”
These are also the findings of McKinsey Report. This includes cutting staff strength, slowing down new hiring, and initiating mass re-training programmes which will result in these loss of jobs.
Wipro’s move to sack around 500 employees and Cognizant’s decision to reduce its employee count by 5 per cent is the highlight of the carnage that is likely to take place in the IT sector, he further said.
There are two main reasons for this. One is the tightening of the H1-B visa regime in the United States and second is increasing industry-wide automation on account of cyber security issues.
According to Firstpost of 31st May, 2017, 14 per cent decline in India’s IT workforce is estimated to be to the tune of 4,80,000 jobs at risk by 2021.
The industry employs nearly four million Indians and rakes in revenues in excess of $150 billion. “The Prime Minister missed, it seems, a crucial opportunity to raise the visa issue…” Tulsi said.
Even as his time to speak got over, Trinamul Congress MP Derek O’Brien told that chair, “Sir, I associate myself” with the issue raised. Some other MPs too raised their hands to associate with the matter.