JOIN US“The current economic recovery (in America) would still put pressure (to continue with the protectionist measures) because areas like construction, manufacturing and retail, from where jobs actually went, are not picking up. So given the new election dynamics, we would think this rhetoric (protectionism) or concerns would not go away,” Nasscom President Som Mittal told PTI.
However, Mittal added that the US would continue to remain the biggest revenue contributor to the US$60 billion Indian IT industry. In the first half of the current fiscal US market grew more than 20 per cent for us (Indian IT firms) and it was significant.
“The US government will try and change its stereotypes and we need to help them in projecting ourselves in the right picture where people do not correlate the work that we do with the job losses,” Mittal added.
Asked about the opportunities in other emerging markets, Mittal said, “There are huge opportunities for us as we (IT industry) are getting mature and now moving into new markets like Continental Europe, African markets, Latin America. These are new opportunities we should tap but its not at the expense of the US market.”
Mittal expects IT revenues to grow 13 to 15 per cent and from about five per cent last year. He expects export revenue of US$56 billion-US$57 billion for fiscal year 2011.