Trump at work, H-1B Bill hits IT companies below their belts

The Bill for H-1 B visa reform has been introduced in the US house of representatives. IT companies in India are likely to get heavily impacted due to this move.  Reacting to the news on Tuesday, BSE IT has cracked more than 4 per cent.

This Bill once approved would definitely be a big set back for Indian IT companies. A large chunk of Indian IT employees are deployed on site in the US, working and staying on H-1 B visa.

It is said that the minimum wage for the H-1 B visa holders would be increased to 1.30 lakhs USD from 60,000 USD which would make it difficult for the IT majors of India to continue employing or hiring Indians over US citizens, which in turn will hugely impact the operating income of these firms. 

However, it would not impact cases where Indian citizens who are placed in senior of the firms working on H-1 B visas as their pay packets could still be higher than the proposed band.

Reacting to the news , S&P BSE IT index has lost more than 4.5 per cent till 12.30 p.m on Tuesday market, which has in turn dragged the benchmark indices NIFTY and Sensex down.
Both of the indices have lost more than 0.60 per cent.

IT majors TCS, INFY, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech are have already lost more than 4 per cent. Investors are keeping a close tab on this segment for further update on this news.