India Inc slams US Senator's chop-shop remark

NEW DELHI: Industry bodies including FICCI, CII and Assocham have reacted strongly to US senator Charles Schumer's comments on Indian IT giant Infosys saying the remark is not only uncalled for but unacceptable to India Inc. The chambers have condemned the US senator's 'chop shop' comment on Infosys with FICCI planning to write to the US administration, expressing its concern. At a time when India and the US are looking at strengthening business ties and improving political relations such a statement comes across as shocking and offensive, said Amit Mitra, secretary general of FICCI. "Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS are totally transparent agencies and we hope that the senator will take his comments back," he said.

Dr Mitra said FICCI will write to another US senator Jim McDermott, who is the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India, friends of India in the senate and to the US administration under President Obama, to adopt a bigger vision so that the two countries can do more constructive things together and appeal that the proposal for increasing H1B visa fees is not accepted.

He also pointed that fact the US economy has just begun picking up again and US companies will need to be more efficient at this time, which can be primarily provided by IT services. "We will urge the US to work with India and contain such erroneous movements," he added.

CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee also said the Indian IT industry has been an active partner in making US companies globally competitive and has been instrumental in creating jobs in the US. "We believe that the US industry and administration is committed to the process of globalisation and India and other emerging markets look to the US and other developed economies for ensuring that a rule-based open trade framework remains the underpinning of the global economic order," he said. Swati Piramal, president of another national chamber Assocham, described the remarks as most disparaging especially for a company which has established it's name in IT sector throughout the world. "These kind of observations have potential to spoil growing and cementing Indo-US business relationship and should have been avoided," she said.