The Indian government went on the offensive last week on the contentious issue of the loss of U.S. and European jobs to India due to outsourcing.
Offshore outsourcing from the U.S. and Europe to India is the result of barriers to free movement of Indian professionals to these countries, Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told a business summit of the European Union (EU) and India on Saturday in Delhi.
“The demographic profile of Europe and America necessarily means that these countries will need the induction of a younger work force from outside in the coming decades,” said Vajpayee who added that if there was a more liberal regime for the free movement of businessmen and professionals from India to these countries, this demand for workers could be met within these countries.
“In the absence of such a liberal regime, outsourcing is inevitable,” added Vajpayee. “If people cannot go to where the business is, business will eventually come to where the people are.”
The emotive arguments about the migration of jobs to countries like India have missed basic points, including that outsourcing is increasing the competitiveness and global reach of European and American companies, according to Vajpayee.
