Every H-1B visa not granted is a big win for India: Piyush Goyal | ET Startup Awards 2026

Days after the US moved against H-1B visas and the green card pipeline for Indian IT firms, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal says fewer H-1B visas are good news for the Indian economy.Speaking at the ET Startup Awards 2026 in Bengaluru, Goyal says he has never raised H-1B visas or green cards in his talks with the US, and that immigration is not a trade issue. His argument: the talent that once left now stays, earns, pays taxes and spends in India, while global companies shift more work to their capability centres in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Noida and Mumbai. In conversation with Deepshikha Sikarwar of The Economic Times.