New US H-1B norms won't make much difference: Nasscom
Bengaluru: The United States' latest move on issuing H-1B visas to software engineers will not make much difference to Indian IT firms, apex industry body Nasscom said on Friday.
"The new measure will be an unnecessary and expensive burden that will not make much difference to our member firms, which are in the business of providing solutions to client companies," said the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) in a statement here.
In line with US President Donald Trump's "Buy American and Hire American" policy, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday declared that the hiring firms have to prove that their employees working at a third-party worksite have specific and non-qualifying speculative agreements in specialty occupation.
The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow firms to hire skilled overseas professionals working in areas with shortage of qualified American workers. Indians get most of the H1-B visas, although there are no national quotas for the facility nor is it specifically designed for Indians.
Of the 65,000 H-1B visas the USCIS issues for October 1-September 30 period every year, about 40,000 are bagged by Indian firms, mostly in the services sector. The top 10 global firms, including TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Tech Mahindra, corner about 20,000-25,000, with the remaining shared by mid-size and smaller Indian firms.
Under the new policy, the USCIS says the employers must provide contracts and itineraries for employees who will work at a third-party location.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Modi inciting people, dividing society, alleges Kharge; Uddhav says 'acche din' coming after June 4
Mumbai (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inciting people and dividing society through his election speeches.
Kharge was addressing a press conference of the INDIA bloc, where NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders were present. The opposition alliance held an election rally in the city on Friday.
"No prime minister before Modi has ever indulged in inciting people like he has been doing. He speaks about democracy repeatedly but doesn’t adhere to the tenets of democracy," Kharge said.
Responding to a question on PM Modi' statement that the Congress will bulldoze the Ram mandir in Ayodhya and also restore Article 370 if the INDIA bloc is voted to power, Kharge said, "We have never used a bulldozer on anyone. Modi has the habit of lying and inciting people about things which Congress will never do or the things that are impossible to be implemented."
Asked about his party's stand on Article 370, Kharge said , "I am not answerable to Modi. We will implement what we have promised in our manifesto."
Attacking the PM further, he said, "Wherever he goes, he tries to create division, speaks of dividing society."
PM Modi had described the Congress' manifesto as Muslim League manifesto, but now he says it is a Maoist manifesto, Kharge added.
The Congress chief assured that reservation as enshrined in the Constitution will continue and nobody can touch it.
Speaking on the occasion, Thackeray said, "'Achche din' are coming from June 4 (when Lok Sabha poll results will be declared) when INDIA bloc-led government takes charge."
"PM Modi calls us 'nakli' (fake) Shiv Sena, tomorrow he may call RSS as 'nakli Sangh'," the former chief minister said.
The BJP is floating 'Pakistan flags in our rally' narrative to divert people's attention from issues like jobs, he alleged.
Pawar said that after coming to power, the INDIA bloc government's duty will be to protect all religious places in the country.
Kharge noted that if elected, the opposition alliance's government will implement a simple, single rate GST, replacing the present GST.
"We introduced Food Security Act, but PM Modi is taking credit for free ration supply," he alleged.
