A really interesting two-part article, by Basab Pradhan, Sr. Vice President at Infosys Technologies, on why offshore outsourcing is good for the US and how Indian companies should respond to the backlash.
Pradhan writes that the time has come for the government of India to step into the fracas: “Globalization is a two-way street. There is enough here to make a persuasive pitch. I don’t know if anyone is making that pitch today. It is up to our government to open official channels of communication between the two governments. For the US, this is not yet a big issue say compared to China manufacturing. Services exports from India at roughly $12 billion are less than a tenth of Chinese manufacturing exports to the US.
But by not opening a dialogue on this, we are allowing the backlash to form opinion in Washington, uncontested by our point of view. The need for dialogue through official channels has never been greater. This is not just about protecting our industry from detrimental legislation. We should educate the US policymakers on the needs of our industry and influence changes to make it easier for offshore outsourcing to thrive.”