Times of India
Tuesday 29 August 2000
Infosys urges easing of US visa restrictions

NEW DELHI: Infosys Technologies, an information technology giant and the
first Indian company listed on a US stock exchange, on Monday urged Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to seek an easing of restrictions on foreign
workers' visas during meetings with US President Bill Clinton.
"We have brought it up to the attention of the government. We hope the prime
minister will take it up," Infosys Chairman N R Narayana Murthy said in an
interview.

Vajpayee starts his 13-day tour of the United States on September 5 in New
York. His three-day state visit in Washington begins on September 15.
Based in Bangalore, India, the $200 million Infosys is India's leading
information technology company, employing more than 5,500 software
professionals worldwide. It was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in March
1999.

According to the company's latest report to the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, Infosys revenues in the first quarter this year grew by 102
percent over the same period last year.
The company's share at the Nasdaq was trading for $158 when the markets
closed last week.

The issuing of H1-B visas, those required for software engineers and other
types of foreign workers to enter the United States, is an important issue
in the growing trade between the two countries, Murthy said. "Big queues
build up and you have to apply in October for next April," Murthy said. "As
the industry becomes bigger and bigger, given the fact that the US is an
important market, it is an issue that needs to be addressed."

In 1998, the US Congress temporarily increased the number of H1-B visas for
foreign workers from 65,000 to 115,000 per year. Of these, about 45 percent
are issued to Indians, US Embassy officials in New Delhi said on condition
of anonymity.

But without congressional action, the annual number of such visas will drop
to 107,500 on October 1 and then back to 65,000 a year later.
Murthy's company is one of the firms that have spawned a high-tech
revolution in India. Most of the 11 Indians on the Forbes Magazine list of
billionaires this year have made their fortunes through information
technology.

Murthy, 56, calls himself a "capitalist in my mind, socialist in my heart."
He gives stock options to all his employees.
India opened up its socialist-style economy in 1991. Computer software
exports have increased by more than 50 percent every year for more than five
years.

Indian software engineers, hailed by President Clinton during his March
visit here, are now being lured by high-profile corporations in the Silicon
Valley in the United States and in other nations.
Infosys has 17 software development centers in India and is looking at
setting up more facilities in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Europe. The
company's existing offshore facilities are in Fremont, California, Boston,
Massachusetts, and Toronto, Canada. Murthy said a London facility was coming
up.

Founded in 1981, Infosys provides information technology, consulting and
software services. More than 80 percent of its sales are in North America.
Infosys has shortlisted several companies for an overseas acquisition but
has not decided which one it wants to buy, Murthy said.

Infosys bought a minority stake for $3 million in U.S.-based CiDra Corp.
earlier this year and had sought the Indian government's permission to buy
companies abroad up to a value limit of dlrs 10 billion. The proposal was
rejected by India's Finance Ministry as part of its foreign exchange
regulations. (AP)