100 Indian firms have invested $17.9 bn in US

Apart from pumping $17.9 billion into the US economy, the top 100 Indian companies operating in the country employ more than 113,000 people there.

Titled 'Indian Roots, American Soil', a report released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday states Indian companies have also contributed $147 million towards corporate social responsibility and $588 million as R&D expenditure in the US.

The data describes spread of Indian FDI across all 50 states of the US. It shows most investments are focused on major manufacturing centres such as New Jersey and New York on the eastern seaboard as well as Texas and California. Overall, the report found 23 US states had 10 or more Indian companies present.

This nullified the argument of the US government that foreign firms were only taking money out of the country, a diplomat said. US lawmakers have proposed increasing visa fees and reducing the number of available H-1B and L-1 visas used by most information technology professionals from India.

“India has termed the move as protectionist and said it has had an adverse impact on services trade. Indian companies continue to face problems in obtaining H-1B and L-1 visas in the form of annual caps, higher fees and rejection rates,” a commerce ministry official said.

Trade between India and the US is more than $100 billion (Rs  6.67 lakh crore), with the merchandise trade accounting for $64.51 billion (Rs 4.14 lakh crore). India's exports to the US, accounting for over $40 billion, constitutes the largest offshore market for Indian goods.

“The ongoing success of Indian companies is why India remains among the top ten fastest-growing sources of FDI in the US. Indian companies are funding community workforce skills training throughout the nation, and popular corporate social responsibility programmes include STEM training for students and US veterans,” the report points out.

In the first ministerial trade deliberations with the Trump administration last month, India had pointed out that homegrown firms had invested heavily in R&D in in the US in a wide spectrum of sectors, enhancing the competitiveness of the economy.

The report also points out the average amount of investment received from Indian companies per US state or Federal territory is more than $187 million. Added to this, 85 per cent of the companies plan to make more investments in the country while 87 per cent plan to hire more employees locally in the next five years.

This has significant impact for US states that have not fared well since the financial crisis of 2007-08, such as Illinois. Indian-origin US Congressman from Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthy, pointed out that Indian firms had invested over $195 million in the state and created over 3,800 jobs.

"As the son of immigrants and an advocate for a strong middle class, I hope that Indian companies continue to put down roots and invest in our state, as our economy and community are strengthened by their engagement with us,” he said.