Thursday, October 01, 2009

NASSCOM Chief sees US Visa limits as 'business killer'

I know this topic does not pertain to Indian housing however the sheer mornic arguments made by Som Mittal makes me wonder whether he is cocooned 20000 ft below the Indian Ocean and expects US Congressmen and Senators believe asnine press releases.
What Som Mittal doesn't say is that Indian offshore providers want to ship in cheap Indian engineers while billing the end customer market rates. The onsite wage arbitrage was exploited by Infosys/TCS/Wipro who shipped thousands of engineers on H-1B and L1-B visa to the US until Mr Grassley and Mr Durbin stepped in and put a brake to these unfair trade practices.
I'm not sure how Mr Som Mittal can explain a shortage of US trained IT workers when there is unemployment leves at 10%+ with underemployment at 15% levels. How can American competitiveness improve by issuing Visa when local work-force is unemployed ?
These press releases show that Nascomm is nothing more then shill for Indian IT companies and does not care about work-force whether Indian or American. They will exploit Indian engineers by paying them below market wages and thereby drive American workers out of their choses professions. The only ones to benefit are the owners and top management of these companies and the politcians in India who they suck up to, to get free land, tax-exempt SEZ's and other benefits.

WASHINGTON: The head of an Indian trade group fears proposals in US Congress to limit visas for foreign high-tech workers would be a "business killer" for India's burgeoning information technology industry and would not reduce US unemployment.

Som Mittal, president of India's National Association of Software and Service Cos (NASSCOM), was concerned that pending legislation would sharply restrict the hiring of foreign workers by domestic and overseas companies operating in the US, harming rather than helping the US economy.

Two senators, Democrat Richard J Durbin and Republican Charles E Grassley have proposed legislation that would prevent any large company from hiring more foreign high-tech workers if more than half its work force already consists of visa-holding foreigners.

"It's a business killer for us," Mittal said, adding that such a move could harm US competitiveness and was not needed anyway because there are not enough Americans to fill the high-tech jobs.

The Grassley-Durbin visa reform bill was first introduced in 2007. Congress is preoccupied with health care and climate change legislation, but Mittal said he fears that elements of the visa bill could be incorporated in immigration legislation that Congress is expected to take up next year.

US technology giants argue that they need more, not fewer, foreign workers to tackle highly technical jobs.

"Sixty percent of all technology PhDs are foreign nationals," Mittal said. "[The visa requirement] could be detrimental to the US economy. You do want to retain the best and brightest."

The industry also needs the ability to make rapid changes to its work force in response to demand or new product development, he told a newspaper.

Launching a new product in the United States requires the temporary infusion of technicians from the country where the product was developed, he said.

It's no different, he said, when a company such as General Electric is building power systems in India - the company will need to temporarily assign a substantial number of US technicians to India.

The Indian information technology sector - with export revenues of $47 billion - includes the software, design and back-office outsourcing industries. It is critical to US technology and financial services companies, Mittal said.

20 comments:

Rajiv said...

Infy, Satyam, Wipro are such great companies and their CEOs and founders are regarded as media heroes and great visionaries. Well, only in India can body shop owners receive such respect. They did zero innovation, treated their staff poorly, purely a labour arbitrage. They exploited the poverty of the Indian "middle classes". If not them, someone else would have done it, so I don't blame them, but they certainly aren't the great heroes they are made out to be. They just got lucky in their timing, and made the most of the opportunity. Good for them. But they've done India or Indians no favours. They are not an Intel or HP or Apple, probably more comparable to the folks who used to send Indians out by the dozen on ships to work in plantations abroad as indentured workers.

skeptic optimist said...

@Rajiv - They were visionary Cheats.

I agree that IT companies are just modern day slavery. There is a shitload of politics, favoritism, regionalism (Telugu boss will only send Telugu employee onsite), no labor laws, poor training and bad attitudes. The managers have no regard to hard working young professionals.

When I worked in Pune, though my company was labeled innovator and it was a product dev company, in many aspects the management which had come over from IT companies treated their subordinates like sweat shop workers.

This foolhardiness will cause the downfall of Indian IT. Once the talented folk leave to join engineering, development, design companies, the IT cos will face double sword of having to raise salary for talent and having to compete with Latin America, Eastern Europe, Philippines, Malaysia etc.
They will become AAJ TAK and India TV :)

Anonymous said...

The party seems to be over for Indian IT workers and all the other MBA grads. All big salary times are coming to an end.

Wake up people. Do not risk buying an expensive house as your nights are going to be sleepless soon.

Anonymous said...

i feel he is not making much sense. just trying to deny the inevitable. people have stopped buying period. i have close to 50 friends in the age group of 28-35 and everyone has an intention to buy but they are just not able to find the price to buy. besides we have seen how recession can change your life in a single day. the job risks , the stagnating salary. when he makes a comment that IT folks are not forthcoming these days that implies the party is over. bakras are non existent in today's market.now with a level playing field with IT professionals, BPO folks , manufacturing guyz and govt sector employees making similar amount of salary it leaves noting to guesswork. 20-40 lakhs would be affordable and anything beyond that is reserved for DINK , people with affluent parents and few folks who had the opportunity to make 20-30 lakhs abroad. sadly the latter portion is not a great portion and now with people deciding to buy houses once they have children the approach becomes even more conservative. i strongly believe we will start to get good apartment 1000-1200 sq feet in good areas for 30-40 lakhs and luxury ones 1600-2000 sq.fet ( sans swimming pool and gym) for 70-90 lakhs based on today's rupee value. if inflation increases to a point where 30 lakhs toda is equal to 60 lakhs 4-5 years down the line then we can just multiply by 2. i see india's fiscal deficit as a major factor. the combined profit making of FIIs in stock market followed by interest rate hike and commodity inflation and banks issing ultimatum to builders on repayment will sound the death knell. it should happen in 2-3 years, if we have patience till then i think we should be good.

average indian buyer(AIB)

Anonymous said...

The Dow Jones retreat back to 6500 has started. Next would be Sensex back to 7000. All the steroid effect from stimulus is getting over.

Prices will fall by 60% in RE in India. Wait till next summer. All greedy bastards will be punished by the market itself.

Anonymous said...

Not 60% but 70% fall will come. This has been openly declared by Yogesh Chhabria of Happionaire Way.

Enjoy the fall and listen to him and don't buy property till it crashes.

Anonymous said...

Any bet on gold ?

Anonymous said...

Gold was $850 an ounce in 1980 and then it went down for 25 years. It might go up to $1200 but go back to $400 in the next 5 or so years, when the economy picks up.

I also heard of a lot of Indian H1-B and L-1 visa holders returning back. Some are trying to get jobs at Gas stations etc. to make some more money before they return to India and do some business or find a job.

Anonymous said...

Real Estate Prices TO Crash 70% Across India
Wednesday, September 30, 2009


But when you read any of these articles closer, you realize that they are filled with quotes from builders and real estate brokers’ telling how now is the best time to buy and how prices have been going up. It is like asking a barber if you need a haircut or like asking me if you should be a Happionaire.

Are property prices actually going up and is there real demand? The main problem with real estate is that is not at all transparent. For the stock markets, gold or commodity prices you can easily look at your laptop and see at what price people are buying and selling. This isn’t the same for property.

To find answers to this, don’t follow news reports but simply try to find out the amount of registrations that have been happening for new properties. It is hard, but once you are able to speak to the people in charge of registrations you will find out. Take a walk down ‘hot’ real estate destinations at night and see the number of residential properties that are actually occupied.

Take a walk into newly built malls and see the amount of commercial real estate lying empty. Properties that were on the market for sale 6 months ago or even from a year ago even today are available and are unsold.

Anonymous said...

Job Losses Far More than Expected. U6 Hits 17%
by Meteor Blades Fri Oct 02, 2009 at 06:15:00 AM PDT

Another 263,000 jobs were lost in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced this morning, far above the consensus of experts. Last month, the revised figures show, there were 201,000 jobs lost. The unemployment rate rose from 9.7% to 9.8%.


The once-all-but-ignored alternative measure of unemployment and underemployed – U6 – rose from 16.8% to 17%. That figure includes jobless Americans who have become discouraged and those working part-time but desire full-time jobs, a total of 26.5 million. Without the government’s economic stimulus, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans, the situation would be far worse. But the latest figures give more credibility to those economists and other observers who have long questioned whether the stimulus as currently constituted can sustain a recovery.

In another much-watched statistic showing weakness in the labor market, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers fell back to 33 hours, a record low.

The number of long-term unemployed - workers who have gone jobless for 27 weeks or more rose - by 450,000 to 5.4 million. In September, 35.6 percent of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

Venkat said...

The big IT bosses are treated like royalty not because they were innovators, but because they are the first honest businessmen in India. And the people who work in these companies also do an honest days work.

There will be no fresh registrations for a long time now, because builders stopped building in 2008. There are no deliveries and hence no registrations. Next wave of registrations will come in 2010 H2.

I agree, at night most apartments show blank windows. The few lit windows look like stars in a very dark night sky. There is oversupply for sure in Dwarka, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon.

Vik, that NDTV link was great. Would appreciate more such videos. Where did you get it?

Venkat ND

Anonymous said...

@ Venkat 1:36 PM

The big IT bosses are treated like royalty not because they were innovators, but because they are the first honest businessmen in India.

Mr Iyer what planet you are living on? I think you aren’t aware of what has been happening lately. Please scrutinize the recent actions (crimes) being perpetrated under the noses of theses apostles of honesty.

- a lot number of IT workers have been laid off under the guise of "Zero Tolerance towards performance" policy.

- the techies have been "forced to resign voluntarily" ( oxymoronic)

- to keep the profit margin same under the pressure of dwindling billing rates ( cuts of 15-35%) ,the working hours have been extended to 9-10 hrs and there is freeze on new hirings

- the variable components have been reduced by 60-70%

- the new ones ( after waiting for 1-2 years) are being asked to join BPO units. In few cases they are being offered a consolidated monthly salary of Rs 5000.

Most of these techies have taken massive home loans and now are reeling under debt burden.

If one of your friends is working in the IT field then have a talk with him to verify these details and yes please ask him to show you the monthly bank statement to confirm the monthly pay.

Anonymous said...

US Housing Bubble 2.0. Check how the government is re-inflating the bubble.

Are we getting ready for subprime 2.0?

Anonymous said...

Yes, we are ready gor another dip. The Govts. all over didn't get any lesson from the first dip. This dip will take down quite a lot from the markets.

Anonymous said...

Anon@3.01

Laying off people is legitimate business practice. That is how life is.

By honest I meant they do not bribe the government for licences etc and do not contribute to elections.

Satyam (so far) has been a terrible exception. But Infosys, Wipro and Cognizant seem to follow honest practices.

Infosys is a lousy company to work for - they squeeze the work out of you like wringing a towel.

But that is their job - to make people work.

Regards, Venkat ND

Anonymous said...

Three more U.S. banks closed, nearly 100 for year

Fri Oct 2, 2009 9:15pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. banks failed on Friday, bringing the total to 98 this year, as regulators continue to shutter financial institutions that are overwhelmed by bad loans and liquidity problems .

Chairman Sheila Bair has said failures are a lagging indicator, and that the banking industry will continue to suffer, even as the economy shows encouraging signs of healing.

Anonymous said...

One more instance where the home buyers are being taken for a ride. Why the heck these idiots make 100% payment before getting possession?

Irked flat owners join hands to get promised deal

Posted: Monday , Sep 28, 2009 at 0559 hrs
Pune:

Twenty-nine-year-old Nikhil Roy, an IT professional, had booked a flat at Wonder Futura project in Kothrud in 2006. He was promised possession of the 2 BHK flat (Phase II) in June 2007. Despite having made full payment of Rs 21 lakh in early 2007 , Roy is yet to enjoy all the facilities promised.

Around 80 percent of them have given full payment. “The main attraction was the smart card based access, monitoring visitors at the doorstep, video surveillance, emergency call and sms, auto detection of cooking gas and tap water,” said architect Shubhada. The project included a clubhouse, gymnasium, swimming pool, children’s play area, senior citizens’ park, creche, piped gas and garden.

“All digital amenities, swimming pool, garden, water recycling facilities are incomplete,” said Meghana Behere, who had booked two flats.

Tired of follow-ups with the builder, some owners in phase I are staying in incomplete flats.

Anonymous said...

They make 100% payment because they think housing never goes down. They are tempted by greed and pressure from peers. Most from US are consultants who made huge money just by taking a a course in SAP or Peoplesoft in India and working for the big 4 in US.

Anonymous said...

Morons Builders OR Greedy Buyers?

Everyone is blaming builders for fourfold rise in prices but who is fueling the prices? Who is helping builders to hold the prices? Yes, the greedy buyers, who are ready to pay 100% down payment without checking legal approvals, without scrutinizing agreement. And once they will get screwed by builders they will reach media to get public support. We have enough examples in last 8 months, the DLF’s project -Gurgaon, Mayta’s Hills -Hyderabad, Wonder Futura-Pune. In my recent visit to a builder, found the same thing, an NRI from US paid 30% amount as booking amount whereas builder didn’t even have agreement papers not even pakka payment receipt. And sighting this example, the builder didn’t negotiate a penny & showed me couple of more such checks.
Since January, to squeeze more out of buyers, builder has changed the payment schedule, now buyers has to pay 50% amount till 3rd slab & remaining 40% amount once your booked flat slab is done.

Vulture.

Anonymous said...

Hi
Vashi Hunter Here
Looking at 2 to 3 BHK in sanpada and palm beach
Can arrange 47 lack white in 1 go ( No bank loan) but NO Black

Can pay 2% Commission to agents

Need all title clear flat,cidco tender plao built...already rejected Moraj Residency
No Ground floor NEED 1 parking ( 2 Preferred)
Sellers Dealers welcome..

Mail - mumbai10000@gmal.com

PS - The person who abused me and called Bindaas Bhai -can he please mail his co-ordinates to me? I am a real searcher and want to meet the person

AEveryone is Anonymous but want to meet him in p;erson and settle the score.