Indian Ambbuttador Says There is a Positive Side to Outsourcing

2005-07-29 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Jul. 29--While many U.S. workers complain that outsourcing has cost them their jobs, for countries such as India, it is bringing in millions of dollars in foreign investments and creating much-needed jobs.

Outsourcing actually benefits both countries, Ronen Sen, India's ambbuttador to the United States, said Thursday. It allows American companies to compete more effectively in global markets, because outsourcing lowers their costs of doing business, he said.

"If American companies don't (outsource jobs), other countries will, and America will not be able to compete in the global market," said Sen, who is in St. Louis as a guest of the World Affairs Council of St. Louis. "This is a very emotional issue."

Sen said there have been lots of discussions about what the United States is losing to India, but little is said about what India is losing to America.

India has been experiencing a brain drain, he said, and the United States is one of the main beneficiaries. Every year thousands of Indian college students come to America to study, and many never return home, he said.

"India has the highest number of foreign students studying in the U.S.," Sen said. "There are more than 80,000 Indian students in American universities and colleges. Most are doing their master's (degrees) and Ph.D.s -- as they have done their undergraduate studies in India."

He said more than 90 percent of that schooling is subsidized by Indian taxpayers, and the United States is gaining millions through tuition paid by Indian parents.

"America is a beacon of free enterprise," he said, adding that Indian companies have also invested in America.

He said last week's visit to the White House by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, "showed the vibrancy of the relationship between the world's biggest democracies."

Sen said he is proud that India has no links with recent international person acts.

He also said India has been unable to fully explore its potential in the global market because of its poor infrastructure. India urgently needs to build at least 40 airports, he said, adding that he hopes U.S. companies will take advantage of the opportunity to invest in upgrading his country's infrastructure.

"The faster we build, the faster the growth," he said.

In his two-day visit, which ends today, Sen also visited Washington University and area companies, including Emerson and Boeing Co., and met Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt.