Study: India-based Tech Firms Boost U.S. Economy, Job Growth

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- India-based technology companies have doubled to 280,000 the number of people they directly and indirectly employ in their U.S. operations in the last five years, according to a new study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).

The study, "Contribution of Indian Tech Companies to the U.S. Economy," also reaffirms U.S. government figures that show investments from India to the U.S. grew by 90 percent in 2010 from the year before, capping what has by now become a mutually-beneficial trend of growing commerce between the two countries. Trade between India and the U.S. has increased eightfold in the last 20 years, the study says.

"Indian technology firms are deeply committed to the U.S. Both they and their employees are important contributors in their local communities as well as the country as a whole. The report that we have released is our endeavor to quantify the trends and benefits behind the significant investments India-based IT and BPO firms are making in the U.S.," said Som Mittal, President of NASSCOM. "The next phase of this partnership will see a continuation and vast expansion of the investments both nations are making in the other. We look forward to a greater engagement in the future, working closely with the U.S. companies to build their growth."

Among the report's key findings:

• Indian foreign direct investment to the U.S. increased 90 percent between 2009 and 2010.
• From 2006 to 2011, Indian tech firms in the U.S. paid a total of $15.3 billion in federal taxes.
• Indian tech firms in the U.S. paid $3.6 billion in taxes in 2011 -- more than twice what the companies paid in 2006 ($1.6 billion).
• U.S. - India bilateral trade in merchandise, goods and services totaled $60 billion in 2009.
• Indian tech firms directly employ 107,000 people in the U.S. and support a total of 280,000 jobs.

The report, conducted by Zinnov, a management consulting company, was unveiled today at a conference here at the Center for Strategic International Studies, that was also attended by India's Ambassador to the United States, Nirupama Rao.

The report can be downloaded at http://www.nasscom.in/global-trade-development-research.

SOURCE NASSCOM