‘INDIAN FIRMS INVESTED $17.9 BN IN US, PROVIDED 1.1L EMPLOYMENT’
Indian companies, which have long struggled with the image of being outsourcers of American jobs, have invested at least $17.9 billion in the United States and provided employment to 113,424 people, according to a new survey of 100 such firms released on Tuesday.
The states that got the largest share of Indian investments were New York ($1.5 billion), New Jersey ($1.5 billion), Massachusetts ($930 million), California ($542 million) and Wyoming ($435 million). The report, which is put together by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) every two years as an effort to highlight the “relatively unknown history” of Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) in the US, was released by Indian ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna and several American lawmakers at an event on Capitol Hill.
“The presence and reach of Indian companies continues to grow each year as they invest billions of dollars and create jobs across the US,” Sarna said, adding that the report “highlights Indian industry’s ascension as a significant stakeholder in the US economy”. The ambassador also referred to commitments of major investments and hiring of local Americans announced earlier by Indian IT companies with substantial presence in the US such as Infosys, Wipro and TCS, aimed at addressing a growing bipartisan concern about them taking away local jobs.
The CII survey titled ‘Indian roots, American Soil’ sought to highlight investments and job creation by these and other non-IT companies such as Mahindra Americas and Lupin Pharmaceuticals.
The survey showed that though IT and enabled services accounted for the largest chunk of Indian businesses in the US at 28%, there were plenty of them engaged in other sectors.
Life sciences and pharmaceuticals were a close second, for instance, with 25%, followed by manufacturing at 14%, energy (11%), food and agriculture (5%) and automotive (4%).
WASHINGTON: