Nasscom team heads to US to discuss visa issues
A delegation of IT industry body Nasscom will be in Washington DC tomorrow to engage with members of the new US administration on issues like clampdown on work visas and flow of skilled manpower between the two nations. “We will be in Washington DC between February 23 and March 2,” Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar told PTI. More..

Making all efforts to protect Indians: VK Singh on H-1B visa issue
Amid apprehensions of a clampdown on H-1B visa by the US, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh today said his ministry is making all efforts in safeguarding the interests of Indian citizens. “The External Affairs Ministry is active in this direction (US President Donald Trump’s plan on H-1B visa) and we are making all efforts to safeguard the interests of Indian citizens,” Singh told mediapersons after inaugurating a Passport Sewa Laghu Kendra (PSLK) here.  More..

EU says open to accommodate more Indian skilled professionals
The European Union said it is ready to accommodate more Indian IT professionals and denounced any form of protectionism in global trade, amid anxiety in India over the Trump administration's possible clampdown on H1B visa.  
Pushing for deeper trade ties with India, a delegation of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs also expressed "regret" over failure by both sides to resume the stalled dialogue to firm the long-pending EU-India trade and investment pact. More..

US law makers non-committal on rethink of H-1B visa norms
US law makers visiting India refused to give any assurance to the country’s policy-makers on the fate of the three Bills introduced in the US Congress for tightening H-1B visa rules.  
Instead, they pressed on the need for strengthening of Indian IP laws, a Commerce Ministry official has said.  
“The group of law makers who met the Commerce Minister on Monday said the situation on foreign workers was still fluid in the country and Senators were yet to make up their mind on the issue,” the official said. More..

America a land of immigrants, says Nadella
Calling America a land of immigrants, Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella said the US stands for inclusion and diversity and he himself had beneficiary of its "enlighten immigration policy".  
He, however, said it should be America first in the US like it should be India first in India when it comes to creating jobs. More..

Commerce Minister, US lawmakers discuss H-1B restrictions
Concerns related to the proposed tightening of the H-1B visa regime topped Indias agenda in a meeting between a group of visiting American lawmakers and Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. Eight bi-partisan US lawmakers were part of the meeting with the Minister. More..

Thank you, Trump, for wake-up call to Indian IT
Mr Trump has done In dian IT a big favour. I believe his focus on immigration reforms and planned restrictions on H-1B visas in the US is a boon in disguise for Indian IT because of four reasons. Firstly, change impacts everyone equally , however some respond to it by dragging their feet while others leap forward. 
I believe this is a great opportunity , as good as the recession in 2008, for smart and nimble organizations to increase market share by being part of the “solution“ rather than being at the centre of the “problem“.Winners this time around will be those who embrace the change, hire locally and proactively announce the number of local jobs they would create More..

WhatsApp launches new feature called Status in resemblance with Snapchats Live Stories
With the increasing popularity of Snapchat among teens, millenials and advertisers, WhatsApp, owned by Facebook Inc will now be providing an all-new feature, which apparently resembles almost exactly as that of Snapchat's. More..

Republican Senator does not expect Trump to weaken H1B visas
A powerful Republican Senator has said he does not expect President Donald Trump to weaken the H-1B visa scheme, sought-after by Indian IT professionals, as the programme benefits Americans and the US economy.  
Senator Oriin Hatch, Senate Finance Committee Chairman, said that in his several meetings with Trump he had discussed the economic benefits of preserving and expanding H-1B visas programme, which is popular among Indian IT professionals. More..

H1-B visa worries hyped up, says Tata Consultancy Services boss N Chandrasekaran
Chandrasekaran, who is set to take over the chairmanship of Tata Sons next week, said at the annual Nasscom conference here this evening, "Every time there is a regulatory change or some kind of a perceived challenge, in our industry, everybody says 'there is a problem' ... and it is hyped up whether it is H1-B, whether it is increase in re-staffing." More..

ISRO all set to launch 104 satellites tomorrow, create a new record
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is all set to create history by launching a record 104 satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday.  
The satellites, to be launched at 9.28 am, will be the highest number to be launched in a single mission. While the Isro’s current record stands at 20 satellites in 2016, Russia achieved global distinction in this regard by launching 37 in 2014.  
Of the 104 spacecraft, three are Indian satellites of the Cartosat-2 series. The others are nanosatellites from Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA. More..

US visa curbs can accelerate IT work to Bengaluru, says Nilekani
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani says that the proposed curbs on H1B visas that is given to attract technology talent to the US would help India, with more work coming to its tech hub Bengaluru. More..

Trump's Hire American plan hit by dearth of local talent is STEM courses
Indian technology services companies responding in earnest to President Donald Trump’s “Hire American” rhetoric are facing a problem they can’t fix on their own: a dearth of local tech talent on US campuses.   
Tata Consultancy ServicesBSE -0.30 %, InfosysBSE 0.39 %, WiproBSE -0.01 % and others are already at work to hire more Americans, as the Trump administration is moving to tighten a work-visa programme they depend heavily on to send Indian engineers to work on projects at client More..

Protectionist US - A major challenge for Indian IT services
Nearly 4 million. That’s the size of the workforce dedicated to a business that’s thrived for the past three decades on a growth model of labour arbitrage. In the process, it’s matured into a industry worth almost $150 billion. The multi-billion dollar question today is, where does it go from here, as it comes head to head with a series of challenges. More..

Indian-American professionals express concern over H1B bills
Silicon Valley-based Indian American IT professionals have expressed concerns over new bills on H1B visa being introduced in the US Congress by the Trump administration, saying it would adversely affect the community. More..

Indian techies welcome in Canada after Trump ban
TORONTO: Indian-origin tech leaders in Canada say the controversial visa and travel restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump will be a boon for tech recruitment and investment in Canada.  
"This provides a great opportunity for the best talent from India to come, live and work in Canada," said Shafin Diamond Tejani, the CEO of Fantasy 360, a Vancouver-based global leader in creating immersive experiences and games using Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed R .. More..

Employees fear promotions will be halted, many consider likely impact on their positions
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Amid the crisis unfolding at India’s second-largest software services exporter, Infosys employees are most focused on their own limited pay hikes, with CEO Vishal Sikka’s 55% pay rise that’s in the spotlight causing some heartburn. The bigger worry for senior employees is about the potential impact to their positions in the company in the event of a management change. More..

Govt asks for data from industry on H1B visa row
The government has sou­ght detailed business data from the industry, mainly the information technology (IT) companies, so that it can effectively take up their concerns over the US visa issue with the Donald Trump administration. 
The issues related with visa were discussed during a meeting chaired by commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week. More..

IT companies should now strengthen domestic market: Ministry panel
The government on Thursday discussed a number of measures to respond to the proposed curbs on H-1B visas in the US with some of the senior officials suggesting that information technology (IT) companies should work towards strengthening domestic industry so that it lowered dependence on other markets. More..

Indian IT firms have been preparing for changes in H-1B visa laws for nearly a decade
The buzz over proposals to tighten US visa rules caused a furore this week, with the move being interpreted as the death knell for India’s $150-billion IT outsourcing industry. However, for many Indian tech majors, this isn’t really breaking news because they’ve known for a while that US visa laws are a game of political roulette.More..

Cognizant finds 'improper payments' of $6 million made in India
US-based Cognizant today said it has identified "potentially improper payments" worth USD 6 million being made for company-owned facilities in India, higher than the earlier estimate of USD 5 million. More..

H-1B visa changes could stunt budding US-India ties under Donald Trump
The U.S. and India seem like a natural fit in the Trump era: rambunctious democracies, led by populists, focused on economic growth and fighting radical Islam. It’s a budding partnership that could be set back by a nuts-and-bolts dispute over employment visas.More..

H1B visa norm changes: Indian IT professionals look at returning home
 Vikramaditya, a business system analyst working with a US-based information technology (IT) consulting firm, is worried if he will be able to renew his H1B visa next year. “I have been on H1B visa for the last two years. With all the changes proposed, I don’t know if my renewal would be accepted next year,” he said.  
A few of his friends working on the same visa in the US are looking for options in other countries like Canada, Australia or even back in India, he said. More..

Trump to judges: Even a 'bad high school student' would rule in my favor
President Donald Trump sought to lend his own legal argument for his executive order banning travel from certain Muslim-majority countries on Wednesday, discounting a legal challenge to the order as anti-security. More..

Poll reveals shocking number of relationships that ended because of the 2016 election
Burning passions over Donald Trump's presidency are taking a personal toll on both sides of the political divide. For Gayle McCormick, it is particularly wrenching: she has separated from her husband of 22 years. More..

India closely monitoring developments on H1-B Visa row, soon to meet representatives of US: Nirmala Sitharaman
Amid the concerns raised by India Inc on the H-1B United State visa row, the Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that the ministry will soon conduct a meeting with the concerned industries including Nasscom to discuss the issue further. Sitharaman, while addressing a press conference today also said “India is closely monitoring the developments on the entire visa row and along with the External Affairs Ministry, we are in constant touch with the embassy in the US.” More..

H-1B looms big for Indian unicorn startups in the US
US Democrat Zoe Lofgren's bill introduced last week is set to ensure that the US retains the crown when it comes to creation of billion dollar startups. The bill seeks to curb job outsourcing through H1B program which has been long used by large IT companies, and make way only for the highly skilled like those who go on to build unicorn startups. More..

US visa norms, technology shift add to IT margin pressure
The $108 billion Indian IT services industry is bracing for tough times ahead as potential visa restrictions add to their troubles such as a shift towards automation and pressure on margins in traditional services. Technological disruption and faster-than-expected adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics and the cloud platform are other major challenges for the industry.  More..

H-1B salary hike plan: L&T Tech fears 2.5 percent hit on margins
L&T Technology Services today said its pre-tax profit margin may be hit by up to 2.5 per cent if the US hikes minimum salaries for H-1B visa holders to $1,30,000, and that it is working on alternatives, including shifting the jobs to India.  
“We have over 1,600 engineers in the US and around 65 per cent of them are on H-1B visas. If the salaries were to be hiked, our calculations suggest an impact of 2-2.5 per cent on Ebidta margins,” Managing Director and Chief Executive Keshab Panda told PTI. More..

India attracted $32.5 billion foreign direct investment during April-November
India attracted USD 32.49 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in April-November of 2016-17, Parliament was informed today. The key sectors that received a major chunk of FDI included metallurgy, computer software and hardware, telecom, information and broadcasting and automobile, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. More..

Melania Trump missed out on ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to make millions, lawsuit says
A lawyer for first lady Melania Trump argued in a lawsuit filed Monday that an article falsely alleging she once worked for an escort service hurt her chance to establish “multimillion dollar business relationships” during the years in which she would be “one of the most photographed women in the world.” More..

DeVos hangs in balance before tight Senate vote
President Donald Trump's selection for education secretary, billionaire mega-donor Betsy DeVos, appears to be his most embattled Cabinet pick, but Senate Republicans have largely held tight in their support.  Senate GOP leaders are confident they can squeak DeVos through the Senate with the support of 50 Republican senators Tuesday afternoon, plus a historic tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. 
"The point is we're at a 50-50 moment where we only need one more senator to break and vote against Betsy DeVos and she won't be confirmed, and so we want to make our argument up until the last minute to see if we can get that 51st vote," Sen. Chris Murphy told CNN's Alisyn Camerota Tuesday on "New Day." More..

TRUMP: 'Any negative polls are fake news'
President Donald Trump blasted negative polls as "fake news" in a series of tweets Monday morning, also accusing what he called the "FAKE NEWS media" of lying. More..

Apple, Facebook, Google and 94 other tech companies call travel ban ‘unlawful’ in brief
In a rare coordinated action, technology companies are planning to step up their opposition to the ban by filing an amicus brief saying President Trump's executive order restricting immigration is unlawful and discriminatory.More..

Trump: Leaked transcripts of Mexico, Australia calls 'disgraceful'
Trump, speaking to Fox News, accused “Obama people” of giving news organizations embarrassing details of his recent tense phone conversations with his Australian and Mexican counterparts, and said that the holdovers from the Obama administration still serving on his White House and National Security Council staff were being replaced.More..

All eyes on 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in battle over Trump's travel ban
President Donald Trump has only been in office for 17 days, but his Justice Department is already embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle over his executive order on immigration that could have monumental implications. More..

State Dept. reverses visa revocations; Homeland Security to follow ‘standard policy’
US authorities on Saturday suspended President Donald Trump's controversial ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries, following a court ruling that blocked its enforcement.  "We have reversed the provisional revocation of visas," a US State Department spokesman told AFP. The department had said some 60,000 travel visas had been revoked in compliance with the president's recent executive order.More..

Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills
President Donald Trump’s son Eric traveled to Uruguay for part of a Trump Organization promotional trip that resulted in almost $100,000 in hotel rooms for Secret Service and embassy staff.

What Trump's signature reveals?
Shortly after President Donald Trump took the oath of office, he went back inside the Capitol and did one of the main things presidents do: he signed a bunch of official papers while less powerful people stood around and smiled.More..