ECB curbs will help IT-BPO sector: Nasscom

IT industry body Nasscom today welcomed the government's fresh restrictions on external commercial borrowings (ECB), and hoped it would help the IT-BPO sector which has been hit hard by the rising rupee.

"This is particularly helpful to the Indian IT-BPO sector, against the backdrop of the too much, too fast rise of rupee against the dollar,"  Nasscom said in a release here today.

The rupee has appreciated against the dollar around 10% so far this year. The industry has been concerned about this trend and its strong impact on the profitability and competitiveness, it said.

The finance ministry announced yesterday, "henceforth, ECB (of) more than $20 million per borrowing company would be permitted only for foreign currency expenditure for permissible end-uses of ECB."

The move aimed at reducing the flow of dollars into the country.

Nasscom said though liberalisation in raising global funds through ECBs is a positive step, the present circumstances are exceptional and warrant some temporary restrictions.

Due to the sharp rupee appreciation, the top three infotech companies -- Infosys Technologies, Wipro and Satyam -- had registered lower profits in the first quarter of this fiscal.