US downgrade may not hit Indian IT in near term: NASSCOM

India's software services sector, which gets more than half of its revenue from the United States, is unlikely to be affected in the near-term after the US sovereign debt rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's, a leading IT industry lobby group said.

"Although the global economic environment is a cause for concern, it is not likely to impact the Indian IT industry in the near-term," the National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) said in a statement on Monday.

"...in case of an economic slump, we see the Indian IT industry strengthening its partnership with the US customers to build-in greater business efficiencies."

Separately, Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 software services exporter, said it was "too early" to assess the actual implication of the ratings downgrade, adding the industry was now better prepared for any negative change in macroeconomic conditions, compared with 2008.

"We need to see if this downgrade along with the prevailing macroeconomic conditions has any further impact on the real economy," T.K. Kurien, Wipro's chief executive for IT business, said in a statement.

"In fact, the structural weakness in the economy offers opportunities to IT services companies," Kurien said.

Software services exporter stocks led the losses in India's benchmark index on Monday after the US sovereign debt downgrade triggered a flight from risky assets in global stock markets.

Shares in India's top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services fell 5%, No. 2 Infosys lost 4.7%, while Wipro closed 2.6% lower in a Mumbai market that fell 1.8%.