MC EXCLUSIVE H-1B fee hike is an opportunity for 'brain gain': Andhra IT Minister Nara Lokesh

Nara Lokesh

Every crisis is an opportunity, and the time has come for "brain gain", Nara Lokesh, Minister for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, in the Andhra Pradesh government, told Moneycontrol.

The Minister was responding to the likely consequence of the $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visa applications.

"The time has come for brain gain. India is no longer just about cost arbitrage. It’s about knowledge, talent," said Nara Lokesh. "If you look at Global Capability Centers in India, the product they’re offering, it’s for the globe."

GCCs are fully-owned units of multinational corporations (MNCs) that perform various business functions, shifting from cost-focused back-office tasks to becoming strategic hubs for innovation, product development, and core functions like R&D, IT, and analytics.  GCCs integrate India's talent and technological capabilities to drive innovation and improve operational efficiency for their parent companies.

Currently, India hosts over 1,700 GCCs, which account for more than half of the world's total centres, as per industry estimates. And the sector employs a vast number of professionals, currently over 1.9 million people.

Watch the full interview on YouTube here.

GCCs are very aggressive, said Nara Lokesh. "We are building a GCC ecosystem, the AI data centre that is coming up in Vishakhapatnam," he said, adding that all this will help in brain gain.

On the number of professionals who might come back due to the H-1B fee hike, the Minister said that it’s premature right now to give an estimate. "But, we have to be ready, whoever comes back," he said.

"My duty is to create Jobs, jobs, and more jobs," said Nara Lokesh, adding that the Andhra government aims to create 2 million jobs in the next five years.

Moneycontrol reported earlier that India’s $280-billion technology services sector was thrown into disarray after a surprise executive order by US President Donald Trump imposed a $100,000 annual fee on new H-1B visa applications, effective with just one day’s notice.

Every year, nearly 70-75 percent of the H-1B visas allocated from a cap of 85,000 go to Indian professionals due to the sheer volume of applications.