India's information technology (IT) spending is anticipated to reach $124.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a 10.7 per cent increase from 2023, according to the latest reports.

Indian IT spend to reach $124.6 billion in 2024, claims report

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the Indian IT workers to consider working in the European country as he announced plans to simplify the visa process for them.

The fervent appeal by Scholz, who wrapped up his two-day visit to India in southern Bengaluru city on Sunday, comes as the country faces a severe shortage of workers, especially in the field of pharmacy and Information Technology (IT).

The chancellor said that Germany needs skilled workers to meet the demand for software development in the country, and assured to modernise the bureaucratic process and legal requirements to make it easier for workers and their families to come to Germany.

He, however, provided no further information as to how many workers Germany hopes to attract from India.

"I am quite sure that many will want to take advantage of the opportunities to work as skilled workers in Germany," Scholz told reporters after holding roundtable discussions with workers of software company SAP Labs India in Bengaluru.

"We need this in all areas of employment, but of course especially when it comes to skills such as those we have seen today in the area of software and IT development," Scholz was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

<h2>German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives in India, Prime Minister Modi welcomes him</h2>

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He said that Germany was already in the process of relaxing language requirements to make the German-speaking country a more attractive destination for IT professionals, who have traditionally veered towards English-speaking nations.

"It is clear that anyone who comes to Germany as an IT specialist can first easily converse with all his or her colleagues in English because many in Germany can speak English," Scholz said, adding that German could be learned later, DW reported.

"A lot of reform proposals have already been collected and we are continuing to work on them," Scholz said.

In the last leg of his visit, Scholz visited several IT firms in Bengaluru and praised India's "booming" software development sector.

Scholz also said that around 1,800 German companies are active in India and have given thousands of jobs.

(With inputs from agencies)

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the Indian IT workers to consider working in the European country as he announced plans to simplify the visa process for them.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the Indian IT workers to consider working in the European country as he announced plans to simplify the visa process for them. The fervent appeal by Scholz, who wrapped up his two-day visit to India in southern Bengaluru city on Sunday, comes as the country faces a severe shortage of workers, especially in the field of pharmacy and Information Technology (IT). The chancellor said that Germany needs skilled workers to meet the demand for software development in the country, and assured to modernise the bureaucratic process and legal requirements to make it easier for workers and their families to come to Germany. He, however, provided no further information as to how many workers Germany hopes to attract from India. "I am quite sure that many will want to take advantage of the opportunities to work as skilled workers in Germany," Scholz told reporters after holding roundtable discussions with workers of software company SAP Labs India in Bengaluru. "We need this in all areas of employment, but of course especially when it comes to skills such as those we have seen today in the area of software and IT development," Scholz was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives in India, Prime Minister Modi welcomes him He said that Germany was already in the process of relaxing language requirements to make the German-speaking country a more attractive destination for IT professionals, who have traditionally veered towards English-speaking nations. "It is clear that anyone who comes to Germany as an IT specialist can first easily converse with all his or her colleagues in English because many in Germany can speak English," Scholz said, adding that German could be learned later, DW reported. "A lot of reform proposals have already been collected and we are continuing to work on them," Scholz said. In the last leg of his visit, Scholz visited several IT firms in Bengaluru and praised India's "booming" software development sector. Scholz also said that around 1,800 German companies are active in India and have given thousands of jobs. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Chancellor Olaf Scholz asks Indian techies to work in Germany, assures to relax visa rules

British Airways GMB union has blamed the airline&#39;s 2016 decision of outsourcing IT jobs to India as the reason behind cancelling all Saturday flights from London&#39;s two biggest airports: Heathrow and Gatwick.

The GMB union said the airline&#39;s decision to outsource hundreds of IT jobs to India last year was behind the problems, the Guardian reported.

The GMB union said BA laid off hundreds of IT staff last year and outsourced the work to India and blamed cost cutting for the travel chaos.

&quot;This could have all been avoided,&quot; said Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at the GMB union. According to the GMB website, the union had on February on February 29, 2016 warned against BA outsourcing IT jobs.

British Airways has cancelled all flights from Heathow and Gatwick on Saturday due to a major IT failure causing severe disruption to its global operations that is expected to run into Sunday.

The airline said its terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick became &quot;extremely congested&quot; due to the computer problems.

Initially the major IT failure was being speculated as that BA&#39;s IT systems had been hacked as recently WannaCry ransomware attack affected 150 countries. But Chief executive Alex Cruz said &quot;we believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack.

The computer crash affected BA&#39;s booking system, baggage handling, mobile phone apps and check-in desks, leaving passengers facing long queues and confusion in airports or delays while planes were held on runways.

More than 1,000 flights were affected. At Heathrow alone, BA had 406 flights scheduled to depart after 9am and a further 71 at Gatwick, according to flightstats.com on Saturday.

(ANI)

British Airways has cancelled all flights due to a major IT failure causing severe disruption to its global operations t

British Airways GMB union has blamed the airline's 2016 decision of outsourcing IT jobs to India as the reason behind cancelling all Saturday flights from London's two biggest airports: Heathrow and Gatwick. The GMB union said the airline's decision to outsource hundreds of IT jobs to India last year was behind the problems, the Guardian reported. The GMB union said BA laid off hundreds of IT staff last year and outsourced the work to India and blamed cost cutting for the travel chaos. "This could have all been avoided," said Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at the GMB union. According to the GMB website, the union had on February on February 29, 2016 warned against BA outsourcing IT jobs. British Airways has cancelled all flights from Heathow and Gatwick on Saturday due to a major IT failure causing severe disruption to its global operations that is expected to run into Sunday. The airline said its terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick became "extremely congested" due to the computer problems. Initially the major IT failure was being speculated as that BA's IT systems had been hacked as recently WannaCry ransomware attack affected 150 countries. But Chief executive Alex Cruz said "we believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack. The computer crash affected BA's booking system, baggage handling, mobile phone apps and check-in desks, leaving passengers facing long queues and confusion in airports or delays while planes were held on runways. More than 1,000 flights were affected. At Heathrow alone, BA had 406 flights scheduled to depart after 9am and a further 71 at Gatwick, according to flightstats.com on Saturday. (ANI)

British Airways blames India's IT services for chaos at Heathrow, Gatwick

Nearly half of the workforce in Indian IT firms will be &quot;irrelevant&quot;&nbsp;in the next three to four years, according to a report published advisory firm McKinsey &amp; Company.

The report said IT firms will have to re-skill its workers to stay abreast with the changing needs of the market, Business Standard reported.

The IT&nbsp;industry in India, which is worth $150 billion, employs around 3.9 million people.

The report stated: &quot;IT services providers must turn around their businesses in five major ways such as explosion of new service lines and solutions, investment to build new capabilities, coexistence of digital transformation and traditional services, acquisitions and re-skilling employees with emerging technologies.&quot;

Industry players believe that the industry is lagging behind because technology is changing a faster rate.&nbsp;

The big IT firms like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have already moved on to training their existing workforce.

Infosys chief operating officer Pravin Rao said&nbsp;<a href="http://www.business-standard.com/search?type=news&amp;q=Infosys" target="_blank">h</a>is company had started platforms like Zero Distance to drive innovation and re-skill its workforce, according to Business Standard.

The Indian IT sector has been plagued with uncertainty in recent times, particularly after US President Donald Trump came to power last year.

India&#39;s software services industry is concerned about a bill introduced in the US&nbsp;Congress seeking to double the salary paid to H-1B visa holders which would dramatically increase the costs for the&nbsp;Indian companies employing them.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)&nbsp;

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A McKinsey & Company report said the IT firms will have to re-skill its workers to stay abreast with the changing needs of the market

Nearly half of the workforce in Indian IT firms will be "irrelevant" in the next three to four years, according to a report published advisory firm McKinsey & Company. The report said IT firms will have to re-skill its workers to stay abreast with the changing needs of the market, Business Standard reported. The IT industry in India, which is worth $150 billion, employs around 3.9 million people. The report stated: "IT services providers must turn around their businesses in five major ways such as explosion of new service lines and solutions, investment to build new capabilities, coexistence of digital transformation and traditional services, acquisitions and re-skilling employees with emerging technologies." Industry players believe that the industry is lagging behind because technology is changing a faster rate. The big IT firms like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have already moved on to training their existing workforce. Infosys chief operating officer Pravin Rao said his company had started platforms like Zero Distance to drive innovation and re-skill its workforce, according to Business Standard. The Indian IT sector has been plagued with uncertainty in recent times, particularly after US President Donald Trump came to power last year. India's software services industry is concerned about a bill introduced in the US Congress seeking to double the salary paid to H-1B visa holders which would dramatically increase the costs for the Indian companies employing them. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Nearly half of Indian IT workforce to be 'irrelevant' in 3-4 years

Already battling headwinds of a slowing growth, the $150-billion Indian IT industry is staring at arguably its biggest uncertainty in recent times after Donald Trump was elected as President of the US, which accounts for around 60 per cent of its export earnings.

While artificial intelligence, digital and automation are the buzzwords this year, worrylines have started to emerge on &quot;creeping&quot; protectionism and negative sentiment in key markets.

IT companies, however, can take comfort from the fact that global technology spend is expected to grow 3 per cent in 2017 after sliding 0.3 per cent in 2016 and long-term targets of the industry of grossing $225 billion by 2020 and $350 billion by 2025 remain intact, at least for now.

&quot;For 2017, the big concern areas include protectionism and anti-globalisation creeping into markets like the US, the UK and the rest of Europe, Singapore and Australia. Second, the need to update skill base we have in India and rising need for digital and consulting skills, and third, the policy initiatives like GST which can impact the industry,&quot; said R Chandrashekhar, President of software association Nasscom.

Trump, who is due to take over as the 45th US President next month, is known for his hardline stance on protectionism and anti-immigration.

While the industry has tried putting on a brave front, there are underlying concerns about tightening of visa norms that will push up the cost of doing business.

Flagging the issue of protectionism and negative sentiment around skilled worker movement in the US, Chandrashekhar argues that corporate America also needs technology services, given the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills.

&quot;The issue is as much about what is good for the US economy. The fact is that according to US&#39; own statistics, over one million IT-related jobs will remain unfilled in 2018... So, reality has to be kept in mind before steps are taken,&quot; he said.

Indian players like TCS and Infosys are heavily dependent on the US market.

The other big market -- the UK -- also did not bring much good news for the sector this year, with the country announcing its separation from the EU.

While companies as well as industry body Nasscom said there may be short-term impact on contracts, Britain exiting from the UK holds opportunities for India over a longer term.

The IT industry, which has been a poster boy for Indian exports sector, has been battling factors like fluctuating currency and rising visa costs over the past many years.

In March this year, India filed a complaint in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the US decision to impose high fees on temporary working visas, a move that makes Indian IT companies less competitive in that market.&nbsp;

(PTI)

There are underlying concerns within the industry about tightening of visa norms as it will push up the cost of doing business

Already battling headwinds of a slowing growth, the $150-billion Indian IT industry is staring at arguably its biggest uncertainty in recent times after Donald Trump was elected as President of the US, which accounts for around 60 per cent of its export earnings. While artificial intelligence, digital and automation are the buzzwords this year, worrylines have started to emerge on "creeping" protectionism and negative sentiment in key markets. IT companies, however, can take comfort from the fact that global technology spend is expected to grow 3 per cent in 2017 after sliding 0.3 per cent in 2016 and long-term targets of the industry of grossing $225 billion by 2020 and $350 billion by 2025 remain intact, at least for now. "For 2017, the big concern areas include protectionism and anti-globalisation creeping into markets like the US, the UK and the rest of Europe, Singapore and Australia. Second, the need to update skill base we have in India and rising need for digital and consulting skills, and third, the policy initiatives like GST which can impact the industry," said R Chandrashekhar, President of software association Nasscom. Trump, who is due to take over as the 45th US President next month, is known for his hardline stance on protectionism and anti-immigration. While the industry has tried putting on a brave front, there are underlying concerns about tightening of visa norms that will push up the cost of doing business. Flagging the issue of protectionism and negative sentiment around skilled worker movement in the US, Chandrashekhar argues that corporate America also needs technology services, given the shortage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills. "The issue is as much about what is good for the US economy. The fact is that according to US' own statistics, over one million IT-related jobs will remain unfilled in 2018... So, reality has to be kept in mind before steps are taken," he said. Indian players like TCS and Infosys are heavily dependent on the US market. The other big market -- the UK -- also did not bring much good news for the sector this year, with the country announcing its separation from the EU. While companies as well as industry body Nasscom said there may be short-term impact on contracts, Britain exiting from the UK holds opportunities for India over a longer term. The IT industry, which has been a poster boy for Indian exports sector, has been battling factors like fluctuating currency and rising visa costs over the past many years. In March this year, India filed a complaint in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against the US decision to impose high fees on temporary working visas, a move that makes Indian IT companies less competitive in that market. (PTI)

Trump, protectionism major worry lines for India's IT sector in 2017

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Indian IT spend to reach $124.6 billion in 2024, claims report

Chancellor Olaf Scholz asks Indian techies to work in Germany, assures to relax visa rules

British Airways blames India's IT services for chaos at Heathrow, Gatwick

Nearly half of Indian IT workforce to be 'irrelevant' in 3-4 years

Trump, protectionism major worry lines for India's IT sector in 2017