Nasscom, USIBC to promote IT

Nasscom and US Indian Business Council have signed a memorandum to promote trade in information technology services and jointly work at the WTO to negotiate best deals for both India and the US in the services sector.

"While India and US may have different views at World Trade Organisation on agriculture, it is important that we work together in IT services. Services under all the four modes of the WTO were discussed in the our meetings," Sunil Mehta, vice-president, Nasscom said.

The Nasscom team met senior US government officials and apprised them of the measures taken in the last eighteen months to improve the data security environment.

Nasscom and US India Business Council organised two events in the US. While 'IT as a bridge for WTO Negotiations on Services' focused on strategies on the WTO negotiations, in the 'Investment Opportunities in IT in India' Nasscom emphasised that while the BPO sector might be contributing to some job losses, India offered a huge market for the US-based companies as the domestic market was growing at a rapid pace.

The Nasscom team conveyed the initiatives under way in India on amending the IT Act, training for enforcement authorities and the judiciary, establishment of a self-regulatory organisation and certification and training programmes.

They highlighted the excellent record of India's intelligence and enforcement agencies with regard to cyber crime.

Also emphasised was India's strong legal framework (and commitment) for protection of intellectual property.

Since the beginning of 2005, there have been a number of high profile incidents in the US wherein criminals have illegally obtained private consumer information.

Leading experts from the US briefed the delegation on the potential regulatory impact of these incidents and stressed the need for cross border co-operation in tackling cyber crimes.