Movement of IT professionals between India and the EU : issues and the way forward

Abstract

India and the European Union (EU) are major exporters of information technology (IT) and Itenabled services (ITeS) and both have high domestic demand for such services.The paper found that movement of professionals has benefitted both Indian and EU companies and, in future, bilateral trade in the IT/ITeS sector and labour mobility is likely to increase. However, there are a number of barriers affecting movement of professionals in this sector. The paper suggests that while some of these can be addressed through domestic reforms in India and the EU, others can be addressed under the on-going India-EU Broadbased Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) and through inter-governmental cooperation between India and EU member states.