Shares of India’s major IT companies fell on Tuesday following news of a U.S. bill that would make it difficult for firms to replace American employees with workers from foreign countries.
The Highly-Skilled Integrity and Fairness Act of 2017, introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 24, calls for increase in the minimum salary of H-1B visa holders to 130,000 dollars from 60,000 dollars.
A sharp rise in salaries would make it more expensive for IT firms to hire employees on H-1B visas to work on projects in the U.S.
IT projects and endeavours in the U.S. contributed to around 60 per cent of the export revenues of the Indian IT sector.
Shares of India’s top IT companies, like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra fell between 2 and 4.5 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex.
The Indian IT industry has been battling a slowdown in global markets as protectionist and anti-globalisation sentiments have gained traction in the U.S. and across Europe. (dpa/NAN)