After Japan, EU Opens Door For Indian Techies; Indian Govt Lobbying Hard For Easing Visa Rules Further
Protectionism tactics by Donald Trump led USA Govt. has proved to be a headache for the Indian IT industry. But as they say, when one door closes, another opens. And precisely this has happened with India, as the European Union has literally opened their doors for the talented Indian techies.
This is a huge positive signal for Indian IT industry, as few days back, Japan had assured swift immigration and easy visa rules for Indian techies.
The USA should get the signals here: They don’t have the power to control or dictate the fortunes of those, who are talented, and willing to give their best.
European Union: Indian Techies Are Highly Skilled; Condemns USA
In a twist of events, Europe, which is perceived as less open to foreign workers, have opened their doors for Indian techies, and even described them as the best.
After IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad urged European nations to work with India, EU has positively responded and even welcomed Indian IT professionals.
David McAllister, who is heading an EU delegation to India said, “Europe is open for people with high demand. Indian people are highly skilled. Our IT sector would not have been successful if we did not have skilled professionals from India,”
The delegation has already held meetings with Union Ministers, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog Arvind Panagariya and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for kickstarting their new initiatives and to enable more cross-border trade tied.
In their statements, the delegation ‘condemned’ and ‘criticized’ US policy of protectionism, by making it hard for foreign workers to relocate and work in their country. EU delegation said that they are ‘open’ for Indian workers.
David said, “We deeply regret that we are not being able to move ahead. We will use the visit to call for resumption of talks for the agreement,”
Indian Govt. Lobbying Hard With WTO For Easy Visa Rules
After President Trump ignited the anti-immigration movement in the USA, Indian Govt. has started lobbying hard with World Trade Organization (WTO) to make visa rules simplified for encouraging cross-border business in the fields of IT and Services.
While sending their proposals for Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services to WTO, Indian Govt. has made the following suggestions:
- Multiple entry visas for those employees who meet the host country’s immigration requirements
- The visa-issuing companies should judge the competency level of employees, rather than the Govt. (clear indication towards the USA)
- Social security contributions by employees with work visa should be stopped (even Japan has been supporting this argument)
- Insurance plans should be made portable across countries
- Fast visa for medical reasons
- Data protection measures should not hamper flow of information for business needs
These proposals had been sent on February 23rd, and WTO will take a call on these suggestions between March 14-17 in Geneva.
We will keep you updated as more details come in..
