Outsourcing is now among contentious issues in this US presidential election, particularly around attack ads against Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital for outsourcing jobs to India.

While India may have been once the ‘call center capital of the world’, another distinction that goes relatively unnoticed is the fact that Indian companies are major job creators in USA.

This was highlighted by Indian ambassador to USA Nirupama Rao in a recent speech at the Asia Society.

"It is the tech space that needs highly skilled manpower and India provides that manpower. Our IT companies supported 280,000 jobs in the US last year. The IT companies have invested more than 5 billion dollars in FDI through acquisitions and green-field projects," she said.

The ambassador pointed to the new phenomenon in investments by Indian companies in the US, as they look to expand their own markets and operations.  "Indian companies are invested in and operating in a large number of states of the US. They are not only creating jobs and prosperity but also working closely with local communities."

She cited the example of a recent trip to Ohio, where she visited a facility in Clarmont County outside Cincinnati, by the Tata Consulting Services, whose employees were mainly Americans from the area.

"What was even more relevant was the fact that they have reached out to local communities, particularly to high schools, and they have brought in young students into the facility to tell them about the value and the importance of IT education," she said.

 
“I cite this as just one small example of what trade and business organizations can do with the community as part of their corporate social responsibilities to build friendship between our two nations. And Indian firms in the US are not behind in this field," the ambassador pointed out.

She was mindful of the political context of her remarks: "I have sought to highlight the role of our companies particularly because the issue of outsourcing is a much debated one in the US today. I know that till US unemployment comes down significantly, this debate is bound to persist."

The ambassador’s comments came a few months after a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) survey showed that around 50,000 jobs in various sectors including in technology were created by Indian companies in the US, in spite of the downturn. CII surveyed 36 Indian companies in sectors including education, financial services, healthcare, pharma, life sciences, information technology, manufacturing, media and telecommunications. Below is a video related to the findings of CII survey titled ‘Indian roots: American soil.