JOIN USFurther Nasscom said, “While the public sector represents a small fraction in the overall demand for offshored services, it does represent a future focus area. Ohio’s ban on outsourcing can only be viewed as counterproductive to the US government thrust on reducing public deficit and possibly lead to an increased tax burden on its citizens.”
Meanwhile, Infosys CEO & Managing Director Kris Gopalakrishnan said, “We are concerned with the recent news from US about banning offshore outsourcing by Ohio State government departments.”
Incidentally, international trade is a federal subject and Nasscom is studying the legality of such a bill being passed by a state government, Nasscom said. It is leading a delegation to the US later this month and will be taking this up with officials in the US. According to Ficci “this decision could trigger similar measures in other US states. This is not in the spirit of our strategic partnership.” “At a time when companies from across the globe, including those from the US, are participating in government projects in India, Ohio State’s ban on off-shoring by government departments would discriminate against Indian companies,” it said.
Coming at a time when global economy is just out of a financial crisis and when countries need to work collectively, protectionist measures of any kind could deteriorate the situation further, Ficci Secretary General Amit Mitra said.
Asocham President Swati Piramal said states that have resorted to outsourcing of IT related services benefited the most out of it and banning off-shoring of IT projects would adversely affect the economy of the country concerned.
Off-shoring creates job opportunities not only for destinations countries but also to countries which outsource such services and therefore Ohio should re-consider its decision, she added.