Trump’s H-1B visa fee hike a ‘self-goal’, says Mohandas Pai; urges india to boost deep tech innovation

Report by S Lalitha for The New Indian Express

By imposing a fee of over Rs 88 lakh for new H-1B visa applications, former US President Donald Trump has "shot himself in the foot", according to Mohandas Pai, former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys. Pai urged the Indian government to seize this moment as a golden opportunity to push forward policies that accelerate the growth of deep tech and technology companies in the country.

Highlighting the need for India to emerge as a global innovation powerhouse, Pai emphasised the necessity for greater access to capital and government markets, both currently lacking. “We need public funding of at least Rs 50,000 crore every year for deep tech companies, as well as simplified access to government procurement. The present procedures are too restrictive and onerous. There is no reason why the Government of India cannot set up a Rs 50,000 crore fund to accelerate innovation,” he told The New Indian Express.

Reiterating his confidence, Pai said India has the potential to become a global deep tech power within the next five years. He cited the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme as a step in the right direction, noting that the government is spending nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore on subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing.

‘Big implication for the US, not India’

Pai believes the steep hike in visa fees will significantly impact innovation and the growth of deep tech companies in the United States. “These companies are among the US’s most valuable assets and the foundation of its global dominance. They are heavily reliant on high-quality H-1B talent from around the world,” he said.

However, the immediate impact on India will be minimal, he noted, since the fee hike applies only to new H-1B applications. “There is already a substantial stock of H-1B employees in the US, and most Indian IT firms now maintain large local (American) teams in their US development centres. Over the past five years, they have undertaken risk mitigation measures,” Pai explained.

He added that the visa restrictions would likely accelerate the growth of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, as multinational corporations respond to the scarcity of work visas by offshoring more operations.

Reflecting on the COVID-19 period, Pai observed that despite the near-complete halt in international travel, work continued unabated. “The pandemic has changed mindsets—companies no longer insist on seeing their teams physically in front of them,” he said.