US elections not a worry as Indian IT aids job creation: Experts

With the US elections around the corner, worries over post-election scenarios are also creeping in. The Indian IT sector, which is a major contributor to the US economy, will also see some changes. IT experts are of the opinion that statements made by the presidential nominees  - Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump - are generic and rhetoric. It is not a reason to worry, says R Chandrashekhar, President of Nasscom. However, he adds that the US needs Indian IT as the relation is on a give and take basis where India helps the country create jobs not only in IT, but in other sectors like energy and defence, too. Vineet Nayyar, Vice Chairman of Tech Mahindra too believes that IT creates jobs, which is beneficial for the US only. IT is a tiny part of the US and its deficit, he says, adding that the focus should be more on change in technology and digitisation right now.Below is the transcript of Vineet Nayyar and R Chandrashekar’s interview to Latha Venkatesh and Anuj Singhal on CNBC-TV18.Latha: Would Nasscom worry with this rhetoric?Chandrashekar: No, I do not think that this is any cause for worry because first and foremost, we should have a sense of proportion when we respond to what is said in the course of a campaign.The second is what has been said is a very broad and generic statement about being against the export of jobs and retailing jobs, which any leader of any country would say.The third is that if you look at the strategic economic partnership, which India and the US have forged, you will see that the IT sector is not something which is given by the US to India. It is something which is going forward, because what the IT industry of India does in the US, is something which is good for the US economy, which helps their companies to stay competitive and helps to create jobs in the US. This has been shown with a number of reports and statistics.The last point I want to make is that any international economic partnership or relationship is based on give and take. There is a lot that India gives to the US in terms of economic value and which in turn translates into jobs. There are major contracts in areas like defence and energy running into tens of billions of dollars. All of which have translated into jobs there. So given that quid pro quo is a part of international relations, there is much that the US gains from the partnership with India and even specifically from the IT sector. The US needs it as much as we do. So, this is broadly the response that I would have.Anuj: I am sure you would have heard the debate. IT industry anyway is not going through the best of times right now. Your first comments on what Donald Trump had to say. Of course, this is not new. This has been his position.Nayyar: We need to distinguish between rhetoric and what will happen if he does become the president of the United States. Mercifully, IT has not been in his antenna so far. It has not been in his view so far.Basically, his attack has been on China. But if he does become the President, he will understand the responsibility of the job, the responsibility of commitment, the responsibility of reciprocity and that will bring reality back to him.IT is still a very tiny part in the whole US trade and its deficit. So, we hope he will miss that. But even if he does not, and I completely agree with R Chandrashekar, that this is something -- what we are providing is creating great efficiency in US industry. That is directly the purpose of technology and as technology moves forward, it is going to become more and more important to make it more efficient, to give them the competitive edge and more importantly, talent and resources they do not have.Latha: Let me add a word more. At the moment, Indian IT is faced with two challenges. There is an economic challenge which is forcing people to cut down bills and cut down IT plans. A technological challenge whereby you are moving away from legacy systems to, probably cloud in social media and the digital and analytical space and that is the economic-technological challenge. And then of course, there is a political challenge, not just from the United States. There is a shift to the right, Brexit also represented that. Would you say that therefore, tariff barriers can come or trade barriers can come regardless, because so many people are thinking that way?Nayyar: Of the three challenges you talked about, the biggest challenge is the change in technology, the change in digitisation, the changes are coming through three different things. These are the issues, which we should be focusing more on and be more bothered about because you are right, legacy systems -- as we had it -- are not going to remain the same and technology is creating its own issue. Will Indian talent become obsolete or will lose their competitive edge or will we be able to move faster and grab these opportunities and become instrumental in bringing about that change? Change is inevitable and change will -- in a way -- affect us because the labour intensity will go away.Latha: And you think we will be able to do that?Nayyar: Yes, at least we should endeavour to do that, at least we should be familiar and be cautious about what the future holds for us.