US officials downplay outcry over outsourcing

As top US officials make a beeline to India to lay ground for Obama’s visit in November; they are insisting on looking at the larger picture of cooperation between New Delhi and Washington without being distracted by the issues like Ohio’s Democrat Governor Ted Strickland’s ban on outsourcing of State Administration’s Information Technology and back office projects to offshore locations.

‘Look to the core’
“In a democracy, you will have voices that say things here and there. But you must look to the core. What is actually happening on the ground ... and, in that area, there is nothing but growth,” said Aneesh Chopra, the Chief Technology Officer of the White House. He was responding to questions on the impact of US protectionist approach on its ties with India.

Chopra and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Senior Advisor for Innovation Alec Ross are leading an American technology delegation to Delhi and Rajasthan “to leverage US and Indian expertise to help produce real-world technology solutions in the areas like energy; education and e-governance.”

Chopra, Ross and other members of the delegation are likely to hold meetings with Indian business and political leaders, to spur productive discussion and thought around identifying new projects, which are ready for investment and ultimate market entry.
The technology delegation landed in New Delhi at a time when the Indian Information Technology industry are concerned over President Obama’s growing pitch against outsourcing, recent hike in H1B visa fee and finally the Ohio State Government’s latest move. 

“I am confident these issues will be resolved because good people will sit around the table and think them through,” Chopra told journalists on the sideline of the India US Innovation Exchange Forum jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and US Embassy in New Delhi.

Obama’s recent announcement that his administration would offer tax benefits only to firms that would create jobs in the US was being seen as a move that might hit Indian IT industry in a big way.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma termed the US moves as ‘regressive’ and reflective of protectionist tendencies. The NASSCOM – the apex body of the country’s IT industry – referred to the US actions as a ‘disturbing trend’.

Chopra, however, said that Obama’s comments were being misread in India. “I don’t believe that it is a accurate reflection of the President’s comments,” the White House CTO said.