00:00We're also keeping an eye on India's IT stocks after the Trump administration revealed plans
00:04for a hefty new fee on visas for some highly skilled foreign workers. A federal court struck
00:11down its previous plan back in June. This time, the administration is trying to advance it through
00:16a regulatory process. Companies would have to pay roughly $103,000 for each candidate they sponsor
00:23for a visa under the H-1B program for foreign-born professionals. Unlike the earlier initiative,
00:29it would apply to almost anyone getting a new visa, not just those who are outside the country.
00:35Right now, we don't know whether this will pass the muster or not. But yes, the initial commentary
00:42is that Indian outsourcing firms definitely use the H-1B program heavily for their work in the US.
00:48Indian students, they go up to the US for study. And typically, Indian students essentially get
00:55temporary work visa and then long-term residency in the US through this H-1B program. We should
01:02keep in mind that Indians make up almost 70% of the visas which are issued by the US. So
01:07definitely,
01:08this is likely to have some impact on the students who are looking to study in the US and work
01:14there.
01:15For Indian companies, we should keep in mind that they have been preparing for it for
01:18some time now. And they have been maintaining consistently that this is not going to impact
01:24their operations much. But we have to also keep in mind that India's $102 billion tech service
01:33industry is a big one. And services exports are one of the key exports from India. So there are
01:40various threats to it. And we'll have to keep an eye on all the developments which happen.
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