Japan IT employees offered relocation to Indian cities after Tsunami hit

In a remarkable gesture, Indian IT companies in tsunami-hit Japan are offering their Japanese employees the option to shift to Indian cities.

"Apart from rolling out the offer to move to Indian locations to Indian employees working in Japan, our IT companies are extending this opportunity to their Japanese colleagues as well," Mr Som Mittal, President, Nasscom, told newspersons on the sidelines of Global Captive Conclave 2011 here on Thursday.

Apparently, the objective behind the gesture is to provide some relief/diversion from the trauma some of them might have gone through, or to give them a chance to be in a different environment. "This is happening. But we don't have exact numbers as yet," Mr Mittal said.

IMPACT

On the likely impact of Japan's calamity on India's IT industry, Mr Mittal said: "Indian companies having operations in Japan may have some adverse impact in the short term."

At present only two per cent of India's IT services exports come from Japan. "But surely there is a growth potential for us," he said.

There could be some 'downstream impact' on the rest of the world due to adverse changes in the supply chain, as Japan's contribution to automobiles and electronics, among others, is significant, he said.

The industry would have to wait for the likely impact on the developments in West Asia, the fallout of US Presidential Elections down the line and also inflation in the domestic market, the Nasscom functionary said.