Will tweak business model in sync with changing US visa norms: TCS

Mumbai: India's largest software company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today said it will "tweak" its business model to ensure it remains compliant with any changes in the American visa regime.

With the US -- the biggest market for Indian IT firms -- proposing a revamp of its visa system, Indian companies are staring at higher operational costs and more stringent monitoring of visas issued to them in coming days.

"...we will have to wait and see. And we will definitely tweak our model in order to ensure that we remain compliant (with the visa norms) and at the same time meet customer demands," TCS Global Head and VP - HR Ajoy Mukherjee told reporters.

Asserting that TCS has been compliant with visa norms, he said the company will "definitely continue to stay in the US and continue to meet customer requirements" in its largest market.

Indian IT firms like TCS, Infosys and Wipro are dependent on US H-1B visa programme to send employees to customer sites. With rising protectionism across markets like the US, Singapore and now Australia, companies are beginning to adjust their business models to reduce dependence on visas, hiring more locals instead.

"Over the last few years, our hiring onsite has been higher and at the same time, we are also going towards 'less visa dependent' kind of business model," Mukherjee said. Asked about the number of visas that the company would apply for this year, TCS CEO and MD Rajesh Gopinathan declined to give out specific numbers.

"In terms of visa per se, our visa usage application will be similar this year as compared to last year. We don't give out specific numbers but directionally, it is the same," he added.