India-US ties strong; no way around leveraging tech prowess India offers: Nasscom Chairperson

Bengaluru: India and the US have maintained strong ties in strategic areas of cooperation and technology over the years and that focus is expected to continue, Sindhu Gangadharan, new Chairperson of IT industry association Nasscom said on Wednesday.

The comment assumes significance as there have been broad concerns about the implications of US Presidential elections for over $250 billion Indian outsourcing industry as well as on employment-based immigration.

On how she sees the outcome of US elections impacting the Indian outsourcing industry, Gangadharan told PTI: "I think India and the US have always focused on strategic areas of cooperation, when it comes to tech...I think there's no doubt that the cooperation has been extremely strong over the last years." "So no matter what the outcome of the US election will be, I think there's no way around leveraging the phenomenal tech prowess that India has to offer....not just for US, but the rest of the world," she added.

India has scripted a strong Global Capability Centre (GCC) story, and the number of such centres being set up and expanded are "mind-boggling".

"Today, if I just look at the number of GCCs in 2024 that have come in from the US, and really look at not just setting up from scratch, but also expanding the set-ups that they have, it has been just mind-boggling to see those number of conversations that we've had throughout the course of the year. So no matter what the outcome of the elections, that is going to continue," she said.

Gangadharan - who is the MD of SAP Labs India - was named the new chairperson of Nasscom in August this year. She succeeded Rajesh Nambiar who was appointed as the President Designate of the apex IT industry body.