'Unwarranted, Ignore Fact': India Slams JD Vance Over 'Indentured Servants' Remark On H1-B

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday criticised US Vice-President JD Vance's description of foreign workers as "indentured servants", calling the terminology "deeply offensive" and saying it ignores the contributions of Indian professionals to the American economy and innovation ecosystem. 

On Vance's comments on green card programme, the MEA said that Indian professionals in US are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy, innovation adding that resorting to terminology carrying painful historical, colonial legacy deeply offensive.

Here's full statement from the MEA

It should be noted that PERM is distinct from the H-1B visa programme. The suspension of PERM applications does not, by itself, affect the validity of existing H-1B visas or the status of H-1B visa holders and their dependents, though there could be some impact on the permanent-residency/Green Card process of eligible employees of the affected companies.

3. It should also be clear that talent mobility adds value to both economies. While it creates opportunities for Indians, it equally helps US companies with cutting-edge talent, innovation, research, productivity, competitiveness and job creation, besides creating shareholder wealth in the US. This is therefore an area of tremendous mutual benefit for the two countries and our expectation is that all stakeholders in this process can appreciate this fact. The steps announced by the US do not advance the shared ambitions of both countries.

4. We have also seen some comments in this context by the US Vice President. We believe that such descriptions are unwarranted and ignore the fact that Indian professionals in the United States are highly educated and skilled contributors to its economy and innovation ecosystem. Indeed, the history of the United States itself has been shaped by generations of immigrants whose labour, enterprise and innovation have contributed to its growth and prosperity. Resorting to terminology that carries painful historical and colonial legacy connotations is deeply offensive.

5. We continue to follow developments around this issue.

What Is PERM?

Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) is the electronic system and process managed by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The US on Thursday suspended IT firms Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe from the Permanent Labour Certification Programme, which allows companies to apply for green cards for H-1B visa workers.

The Trump administration is also suspending tech giant Microsoft from a programme to apply for green cards for workers who come to the US to live and work using an H-1B visa. Vice President JD Vance accuses the company of fraud.

Vance said, "If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants." Vance spoke in a White House news conference announcing the decision.  The H-1B programme has long been a target of President Donald Trump's supporters who say the programme undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse.

ALSO READ | 'Not A Zero-Sum Game': Indian IT Bigwigs Defend US Job-Creation Record Amid PERM Action

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Ajit Agarkar Factor Behind Bhuvneshwar's Absence From Team India: Report

Veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Tuesday returned to the national side nearly four years after his last appearance, for the upcoming five-match T20I series in New Zealand later this month. The 36-year-old Meerut-born Bhuvneshwar played a stellar role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's back-to-back IPL title triumphs, claiming 17 wickets last season while tormenting some of the best batters in the business with swing and seam movement during the powerplay. However, Bhuvneshwar's comeback did not happen during Ajit Agarkar's tenure, as the former chairman of selectors was not inclined to look back at experienced players despite their performances.

It is understood that Central Zone selector Rudra Pratap Singh never found much support when it came to the inclusion of Bhuvneshwar, but once Agarkar was gone, it was not very difficult to convince Pragyan Ojha and the other selectors about the value of the experienced seamer, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.

With his experience, he can also guide the likes of Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav, both of whom are being viewed as potential contenders for the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia.

Apart from his 21 Tests and 121 ODIs, Bhuvneshwar has played 87 T20Is and taken 90 wickets.

The squad announced by the BCCI, the first after the exit of former chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and with Pragyan Ojha serving as interim chairman, also features Varun Chakravarthy, who returns after an injury ruled him out of the Asian Games.

Most of the T20I squad currently featuring in the West Indies series picked itself, but Bhuvneshwar's comeback will also inspire Mohammed Shami.

India will play five T20Is from October 22 to November 1 in New Zealand. The first match of the series will be played in Christchurch on October 22, followed by the second at the same venue on October 24.

The third T20I, on October 27, will be played in Wellington, while the fourth and fifth matches will be held on October 30 and November 1 in Auckland and Hamilton respectively.

India will also play a five-match ODI series and a two-Test series after the T20I leg.

India's T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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