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Category: Communications

  • Ncell service stays uninterrupted amid Gen Z protests in Nepal

    Ncell service stays uninterrupted amid Gen Z protests in Nepal

    Nepal’s leading private telecom operation, Ncell, has suffered massive losses in a recent attack on its infrastructure across the country. After the Gen Z protest turned violent, some agitated crowds took to torching the telco’s building and vehicles and damaging its equipment. However, despite all the damages, the company has maintained its services without disruptions.

    The Gen Z protest started on September 8 and escalated the following day, with dozens even killed. But during the demonstrations, Ncell also incurred severe damage. The company says that its central office, Ncell head office in Lainchaur, and other offices across the country were vandalized during the Gen Z protests.

    Ncell details damages during the Gen Z protests
    The entire central Ncell building, including the two-story underground parking, was damaged during the Gen Z protests. Vandals torched the parking lot, 10-story building, and many documents are still missing. According to the telco, the unruly crowd pulled out 23 vehicles of the company from the parking lot, vandalized them, and set them on fire.

    Additionally, an Ncell Center within the headquarters was also vandalized and torched. The company reports that Ncell Centers in Pokhara, Dhangadhi, and Mahendranagar also took damage during the frantic two-day protests. The sigh of relief was that the Ncell data center in Nakkhu, Lalitpur, was safe. This was the reason the company was able to continue providing services without interruptions.

    “Despite these challenges, Ncell, as always, remained steadfast in its core mission of ensuring continuous access to telecommunication services for the country and the general public. To make services easily available during the crisis, we provided three days of free local voice calls, SMS, and internet service. For the past 20 years, we have been prioritizing serving the Nepali community, which clearly reflects our unwavering dedication to our customers,” Ncell said.

    Ncell data, voice, and services are running without interruption despite heavy damages
    Ncell says that its services (voice, data, SMS, VAS) are all running without interruption despite damage during the Gen Z protests. But it does admit that its day-to-day operations have suffered. After curfew announcement on September 8, the telco told its staff to work from home if necessary.

    The company is currently assessing the damage and says that it’s still not in a position to specify the extent of the losses. As the entrance to the main office building has severe damages, the office can’t come into operation immediately. But its services will continue without disruption from the damage.

    Ncell welcomes Gen Z protests, vows to rise for people, again
    In its statement, Ncell also said that it welcomes the Gen Z protests and the changes brought by the youth movement. The company said, “We share the collective hope that this change will bring greater unity, peace, and prosperity for all Nepalis.”

    Ncell said that it’s been supporting Nepal’s digital transformation journey for the past 20 years and will continue to do so. It added that it has contributed to ICT growth, creating employment, accelerating economic growth, and helping realize Digital Nepal vision.

    “Today, with even greater determination and resilience, we want to reaffirm our commitment to serving the nation and its people. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our employees, customers, and communities, and we are sincerely grateful for the support, solidarity, and cooperation you have extended to us so far,” the telco said. NepaliTelecom

  • 25M jobs and $600B growth: CII’s National GCC Policy plan

    25M jobs and $600B growth: CII’s National GCC Policy plan

    The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested a framework for a National Global Capability Centres (GCC) Policy, that can position the country as the global headquarters for innovation-driven GCCs, generate 20-25 million jobs and contribute up to $600 billion in economic impact.

    The framework for National GCC Policy, encompasses the setting up Digital Economic Zones, deepening industry-academia partnerships and establishing a GCC Council for inter-ministerial coordination and centre-state alignment.

    The implementation of the National GCC Policy framework, alongside the Model State Policy, can double India’s GCC footprint by 2030, and make India the world’s premier architect of enterprise innovation, the industry lobby argued.

    It has been proposed in the Union Budget 2025-26 that a National Framework will be formulated as guidance to states for promoting Global Capability Centres in emerging tier II cities.

    The framework suggested by CII calls for clear performance metrics for job creation, innovation, exports, and regional spread, with feedback loops for continuous policy improvement and adaptive strategies to respond to global market and technology shifts.

    It calls for national GCC growth to be integrated with initiatives such as Smart Cities and Gati Shakti to promote Tier-II and Tier-III cities as alternative hubs. This requires addressing gaps in transport, utilities, and Grade-A office infrastructure, thereby ensuring balanced and inclusive regional growth.

    Moreover, GCCs should be encouraged to act as R&D powerhouses for global companies, supported by corporate venture capital arms and innovation linkages with start-ups.

    Incentives for ESG-led innovation — ranging from green infrastructure to responsible AI adoption — should be built in, ensuring alignment with India’s net-zero commitments and sustainability goals, suggests the framework.

    The framework is anchored in three pillars — national direction, enabling ecosystem, and measurable outcomes — supported by four critical success factors: talent, infrastructure, regional inclusion, and innovation.

    Over the past three decades, India’s GCC journey has evolved in four phases — from cost-focused IT and back-office hubs in the 1990s, to multi-function delivery centres in the 2000s, to digital and innovation hubs post-2015, and now into global enterprise hubs of resilience and digital acceleration.

    Key achievements include India’s commanding global share, with nearly half of the world’s GCCs located here; direct employment of 2.16 million professionals supporting almost 10.4 million jobs in total; an economic contribution of USD 68 billion in gross value added that is projected to rise to between USD 154 and USD 199 billion by 2030; and a job creation potential of 20-25 million roles by the end of the decade, including 4-5 million direct positions.

    Investor confidence remains strong, with 3 new GCCs being set up every two weeks.

    CII also announced that it is in the final stages of preparing a Model State GCC Policy. This will provide a practical template for states to design their own GCC promotion policies, ensuring alignment with the national vision while allowing for state-specific flexibility and innovation.

    “The Model State Policy will complement the national framework by providing a ready playbook for state governments. Together, they will unlock inclusive, distributed growth across India’s cities and regions,” according to CII.

    The suggested framework for the model state GCC policy would be the key focus of discussion at the GCC Business Summit in Vizag on September 17.

    CII called upon all stakeholders — central and state governments, global enterprises, academia, and start-ups — to collaborate in turning this vision into reality. PTI

  • Vi AGR dispute case comes up on sept 19

    Vi AGR dispute case comes up on sept 19

    The Supreme Court will hear a petition by Vodafone Idea Ltd. seeking quashing of the additional AGR demands for the period until 2016-17 this Friday, Sept. 19.

    The company moved the apex court last week seeking a direction to the Department of Telecommunications to ‘comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period up to fiscal 2016-17 following the ‘Deduction Verification Guidelines’ dated Feb. 3, 2020. It sought an early hearing on its petition.

    In a setback to telecom majors including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the Supreme Court in May refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas to rectify alleged errors in the calculation of adjusted gross revenue dues. The telecom companies had argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation be rectified and there were cases of duplication of entries.

    The top court in September 2020 fixed a time frame of 10 years for telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.

    The AGR dispute
    The AGR issue dates back over a decade, involving a prolonged dispute between telecom companies and the government over the definition of adjusted gross revenue. In its 2019 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the government’s broader interpretation, which includes revenue from non-core operations. This dramatically increased the dues owed by several telecom operators.

    In 2020, the apex court rejected any reassessment or recalculation of these dues and allowed the companies a 10-year window to pay them in installments, with interest.

    The government has become the single largest shareholder in Vodafone Idea after acquiring shares worth Rs 36,950 crore in lieu of outstanding spectrum auction dues in March. Earlier, the government had acquired around 33% stake in 2023 in lieu of statutory dues worth over Rs 16,000 crore. NDTV Profit

  • Telcos yet to clear ₹16.9 cr dues to Ahmedabad Municipal body

    Telcos yet to clear ₹16.9 cr dues to Ahmedabad Municipal body

    Ahmedabad Municipal authorities in the city have failed to collect a substantial amount in fees and rents from telecommunication companies for the erection of mobile towers and laying of cables across the city. Standing Committee officials said that a total of Rs 16.9 crore in dues is yet to be collected from 16 telecom agencies.

    During a meeting of the committee, a proposal was presented regarding the new Telecommunications Rules-2024, which includes updated rates for the fees and rents to be collected from telecommunication companies.

    The deputy municipal commissioner in charge of the Estate Department and the Estate officials clarified the details of the proposal. The DyMC revealed that approximately 2,200 mobile towers are spread across various parts of the city, with a total of Rs 16.9 crore still pending in fees and rents for these towers and cables.

    The DyMC also admitted that he was unable to provide specific details regarding the property tax arrears from telecommunication companies. However, he assured that the implementation of the new proposal would not result in any financial loss to the AMC.

    Additionally, the committee said that telecom companies are obligated to restore roads and footpaths after their work is completed. Ahmedabad Mirror

  • Railtel stock surges as it bags ₹103.4 cr orders

    Railtel stock surges as it bags ₹103.4 cr orders

    Railtel Corp share price hit over one-month high in Friday’s session as the railway PSU secured two orders worth Rs 103.4 crore. The orders are from Panvel and Nashik municipal corporations.

    In Panvel, Raitel Corp will supply, install, and provide service for provision of connectivity-based internat lease line for Panvel Safe City project. The company will conclude the order by 19 March 2026, according to an exchange filing.

    For Nashik Municipal Corp, Railtel Corp will implement agency for supply, install, test, and commission Nashik and Trimbakeshwar city network backbone along with providing operations and maintenance services, the company said in the exchange filing.

    Railtel Corp will complete the project for Nashik Municipal Corp by December 2026. The company has been steadily acquiring orders in the current week, which has brought the stock to investors’ attention.

    On Tuesday, Railtel Corp received orders worth Rs 18.56 crore from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp for comprehensive cyber security intelligence services. Railtel will execute the contract by September 2028.

    On Monday, Railtel Corp received multiple letter of acceptances from the State Project Director Bihar Education Project Council. The nature of the order is supplying various equipment for labs, and teaching materials. The total value of the multiple orders are 520 crore from State Project Director Bihar Education Project Council.

    Railtel Corp share price rose 4.33% to Rs 379.15 apiece, the highest level July 30. The stock has resumed its rally in Friday’s session after one-day blip in the previouse session.

    Railtel share price was trading 2.64% higher at Rs 372.80 apiece as of 10:33 a.m.

    The stock declined 20.66% in 12 months, while it declined 7.86% on year-to-date basis. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 3.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 57.82.

    Two analysts tracking the company suggest ‘sell’, according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies a downside of 33.8%. NDTV Profit

  • BSNL expansion: Land cleared in 930 Maharashtra villages

    BSNL expansion: Land cleared in 930 Maharashtra villages

    The Maharashtra government has approved the allotment of land in 930 villages across the state to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for setting up mobile towers to extend internet facilities to rural areas, an official order said on Thursday.

    A notification from the Revenue and Forest Department said BSNL had sought land for “ground-based towers and hoisting of equipment” to expand 4G coverage, particularly in remote and tribal areas.

    For each site, 200 sq metres of land will be provided free of cost, in line with an earlier cabinet decision of November 29, 2022, it said.

    The department said that of the 2,751 villages approved in April 2023, technical difficulties prevented tower installation at several locations. BSNL subsequently proposed a revised list of 930 villages, which has now been cleared.

    According to the annexure attached to the order, the allocation covers villages across 30 districts, including 73 in Parbhani, 70 in Nanded, 67 in Latur, 63 in Yavatmal, 61 in Amravati, 60 in Nashik, and 65 in Raigad.

    Gadchiroli (48) and Palghar (14) include a significant number of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group habitations.

    The notification said district collectors have been directed to provide approvals within 15 days and facilitate electricity supply, right of way for optical fibre cables, and other basic infrastructure support in coordination with the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited. PTI

  • Telecom regulator raises concerns on jio, Airtel’s plan cuts

    Telecom regulator raises concerns on jio, Airtel’s plan cuts

    India’s telecom regulator has asked Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd to explain why they removed their cheapest 1GB entry-level mobile plans, said four people in the know, amid concerns that low-income individuals relied on these for basic internet access.

    The department of telecommunications (DoT) also asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to look into the issue and submit a report, one of the four persons cited above said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    While Jio said its recharge plan continues to be available only offline via Jio stores, Airtel cited internal assessment and usage analysis, among other reasons, for discontinuing the plans, according to two people cited above.

    On 19 August, Mint had reported that the two operators pulled their entry-level 1GB per day plans that cost ₹249 each: Reliance Industries Ltd-owned Jio offered a 28-day validity, and Airtel’s plan was valid for 24 days. Jio first removed the plan from its website, and Airtel followed suit.

    According to analysts at JM Financial, the move was aimed at boosting average revenue per customer, or Arpu, a key telecom industry metric. The changes in the entry-level plans by the market leaders indicate the possibility of another increase in headline tariffs shortly, the brokerage said, citing the potential initial public offering of Jio.

    Airtel’s new entry-level tariff plan costs ₹299 and is valid for 28 days for 1 GB of daily data. In comparison, Jio offers 1.5 GB per day for ₹299 for 28 days. The move has raised concerns about affordability and continued internet access for low-income users.

    Queries emailed to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, department of telecommunications (DoT) and TRAI did not elicit any response till the press time.

    “TRAI is a regulator. It has all the powers to intervene where necessary, keeping in view the consumer interest,” the second person quoted earlier said, adding that the companies have submitted the responses and those are being reviewed.

    The person said each telecom company offers multiple plans to meet various consumer requirements.“Hence, they are at liberty to design their tariffs based on market forces of demand and supply. However, this liberty is not unrestrained, and it is subject to regulatory checks.”

    What operators say
    According to the third person, Jio said in its response to TRAI that it has repositioned some of the packs based on its market analysis, and some of these plans are now available only on Jio stores.

    On the other hand, Airtel discontinued the ₹249 plan with effect from 20 August 2025, the fourth person quoted above said, adding that such steps are taken after analysing the market to enhance value for customers.

    “The ₹299 plan is a better plan with more validity,” the fourth person said, adding that tariffs are affordable.

    An executive at one of the two operators told Mint the plans were removed based on user preference for higher data packs. Earlier, in the absence of 5G, daily 1-1.5 GB data plans were in demand, the executive said. With 5G, there is a huge increase in data consumption and it does not make sense to continue with unpopular plans, the executive added.

    Plans still affordable
    However, in a recent letter to communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, a member of parliament from Karnataka said that farmers in his constituency cannot afford the telecom tariffs.

    India’s entry-level telecom plans cost 1.24% of per-capita GDP (gross domestic product) or the average national income, higher than markets like Thailand, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia, according to a 20 July note of UBS Research. That makes it the least affordable among these countries.

    However, overall, India is still among the countries with the lowest telecom tariffs. In February, Scindia told the parliament that mobile phone tariffs have come down by 94% since 2014. He had said that the cost of data was ₹270 per GB in 2014, which has come down to ₹9.70 per GB.

    The government does not intervene in free-market decisions. Any change in mobile services tariffs is notified by telecom operators to the regulator TRAI.

    “Forbearance is not permanent. TRAI has all the powers to invoke the same and intervene whenever there is a need to protect the consumer interest,” said Satya N. Gupta, former principal advisor at TRAI and professor at South Asian University.

    Steady rise in tariffs
    Telecom operators raised tariffs in July last year after a gap of over two years. Reliance Jio took the lead in raising tariffs between 12% and 25%.

    At the time, the communications ministry had acknowledged that higher investments had prompted the hike.

    “It is pertinent to mention here that the TSPs (telecom service providers) have increased the prices of mobile services after more than 2 years,” the communications ministry said in a 5 July 2024 statement.“In the last 2 years, some of the TSPs have invested heavily in rolling out the 5G services across the country.”

    The move had boosted what operators earn on average from a user. As of June end, Jio’s Arpu was at ₹208.8 a month, lower than Airtel’s ₹250.

    Citing that 20-25% of Jio’s subscribers are likely on 1GB a day plan, JM Financial estimates that the move could lead to Jio’s Arpu further rising by ₹11-13 a month, or 6-7%. For Airtel, 18-20% of its subscribers are likely on 1GB/day plan, which could lead to its Arpu rising by ₹10-11/month, or 4-4.5%.

    JM Financial, however, said in a 29 August note that a near-term tariff hike can’t be ruled out, citing Jio’s potential listing plans.

    In its 48th annual general meeting (AGM) on 29 August, Reliance Industries announced it aims to list Jio by the first half of 2026, subject to all necessary approvals.

    Doing away with entry-level plans is“indicative of telcos’ pricing power to boost Arpu even without taking an explicit tariff hike”, the analysts at JM Financial said.“…this could also be indicative of probable monetization of 5G plans in the next 1-2 years.” MenaFN

  • UN warns of rising scam centers in East Timor

    UN warns of rising scam centers in East Timor

    A suspected scam call operation and a suspicious network of companies was discovered with links to a new free trade zone in the nation of East Timor, according to a report published Thursday by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

    The report comes as scam centers have proliferated across Southeast Asia and spread across the world, and highlights the ability of the criminal enterprises to relocate as some governments in the region launch crackdowns.

    Such centers, usually walled compounds in remote areas that conduct computer-enabled scams that are estimated to cost victims tens of billions of dollars per year, have proliferated in recent years, especially in Southeast Asia.

    Scam centers in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have drawn global attention for running notorious romance scams, where a worker poses as an attractive young woman to lure targets into making false investments. They are also found in the Philippines and Laos, and UNODC warned in April that scam centers have appeared in Latin America and Africa.

    In East Timor, police raided a suspected scam center in late August in the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse, detaining more than 30 foreigners for working without permission. The people detained came from Indonesia, Malaysia and China, but the UNODC report said it is unclear if they had been trafficked.

    Oecusse is an exclave of East Timor located on the Indonesian half of the island the two countries share, and the region’s government opened a free trade zone called Oecusse Digital Centre in December 2024.

    “The scale and nature of the activity we are now seeing – similar to what we were seeing at the earlier stages of Southeast Asia’s scam industry – shows how far things have progressed,” said Benedikt Hofmann, deputy regional representative at UNODC for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. “This is concerning, especially given the boost in connectivity Timor-Leste will be experiencing as part of becoming a full member of ASEAN.”

    The nation of East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, is one of the poorest in the world, and has a population of 1.3 million. It is due to join the regional association of Southeast Asian nations called ASEAN in October this year.

    The UNODC said other companies with apparent links to scam networks were also found to be active in the region. The agency said one, an online gaming company, is connected with casino networks in Cambodia, owned by a Cambodian businessman with links Wan Kuok-koi, leader of the 14K Triad criminal gang and sanctioned by the United States.

    Across countries in Southeast Asia, free trade zones or special economic zones have been exploited to facilitate cyber-enabled scams, money laundering and other crimes.

    Last year, the Philippines launched a nationwide crackdown in which the government deported thousands of workers found in scam centers. In February, Thailand, Myanmar and China launched a joint action that saw thousands of workers released. However, the centers themselves have continued to operate. AP

  • Oracle shares surge on growing AI cloud demand

    Oracle shares surge on growing AI cloud demand

    Oracle shares surged about 43% to a record high on Wednesday, putting the company on track to join the elite trillion-dollar club and propelling co-founder Larry Ellison closer to the top of the world’s richest list.

    The company unveiled four multi-billion-dollar contracts on Tuesday, amid an industry-wide shift, led by companies such as OpenAI and xAI, to aggressively spend to secure the massive computing capacity needed to stay ahead in the AI race.

    The stock was last up 36.7%, after rising to hit a record high of $345.69, set for its biggest one-day percentage jump since 1992.

    Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that OpenAI has signed a contract to purchase $300 billion in computing power from Oracle over roughly five years, marking one of the biggest cloud contracts ever signed.

    A majority of the new revenue Oracle described on Tuesday will come from the OpenAI deal, the report said.

    Ellison, 81, whose net worth is largely derived from his 41% stake in Oracle, saw his fortune rise by about $100 billion to around $392.6 billion, according to Forbes.

    He is rapidly closing in on Tesla chief Elon Musk in the race for the title of the world’s richest person. Musk’s net worth last stood at $439.9 billion.

    Oracle will add about $234 billion to its market valuation, taking the total to around $913 billion, if gains hold, and bringing the company closer to the coveted $1 trillion-dollar club.

    Its shares have risen 45% so far this year, outperforming the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks and the broader S&P 500 index, with investors betting big on AI-driven cloud firms.

    “Over the next few months, we expect to sign up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers and RPO is likely to exceed half-a-trillion dollars,” said CEO Safra Catz during a post-earnings call.

    Currently, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud dominate the cloud computing market with a combined 65% share, while Oracle, Alibaba, CoreWeave and others hold a smaller slice of the market.

    Oracle’s first-quarter results lifted shares of Nvidia, Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices, which supply semiconductors used in data centers. Shares of the companies rose between 2% and 8%.

    Competitor CoreWeave’s shares were up about 15%.

    The company has struck deals with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft to let their cloud customers run Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) alongside native services. The revenue from these partnerships rose more than sixteen-fold in the first quarter.

    “What matters here is that this figure now includes contributions from the Stargate venture and two other big AI players, meaning revenues beyond 2026 go much higher,” said Ben Reitzes, analyst at Melius Research.

    Analysts flagged Oracle’s role in SoftBank and OpenAI’s Stargate project as another tailwind, giving the company a foothold in the large-scale AI infrastructure project that is expected to channel about $500 billion in spending.

    The company also supplies cloud services to xAI, the AI startup founded by Musk, a longtime ally of Ellison.

    Oracle’s stock is trading at over 33.34 times its 12-month forward earnings estimates, compared with Amazon’s 32.34 and Microsoft’s 30.83. Reuters

  • H-1B visa costs push Indian IT firms to cut Reliance

    H-1B visa costs push Indian IT firms to cut Reliance

    India’s top software services companies are steadily reducing their dependence on H-1B visas for US hiring, as immigration rules grow more expensive and complex.

    Why it matters
    The move reflects how Indian IT giants are shifting delivery models — hiring locally in the US, nearshoring work, and adopting automation — while navigating political pressure in Western markets to safeguard local jobs.

    In May, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it had selected 120,141 applications for H-1B visas for 2026. This is the lowest number chosen since 2021. Even with this drop, the announcement sparked fresh debate, especially among supporters of Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Many argued the figure was still too high and claimed the H-1B programme was taking away jobs from Americans.

    US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have strongly criticised the H-1B visa programme, calling it a “scam”. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer also wrote on social media: “US workers are being replaced. 120,000 H-1B visas have been approved for 2026. Not good.”

    Indians continue to be the largest beneficiaries of the programme, receiving about 72.3 per cent of all H-1B approvals in recent years. For FY 2025, around 135,000 people were selected out of more than 470,000 applicants, with Indians again making up the majority.

    The heavy reliance on H-1B visas is crucial for India’s IT industry. The programme gives access to major global contracts and management roles. Any cuts or restrictions could limit opportunities for Indian professionals and disrupt long-standing business models of large Indian IT companies.

    By the numbers

    • The six biggest IT employers — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and LTIMindtree — cut H-1B issuances by an average of 46 per cent over the past five years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
    • TCS remained an exception in FY25, sponsoring 5,505 visas, second only to Amazon, thanks to its 600,000-strong workforce.
    • Global consultancies such as Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, and IBM reported a similar 44 per cent average drop in filings between FY21 and FY25, the news report said.
    • In contrast, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Google have stayed among the top sponsors, continuing to draw Indian tech talent.

    AI labs join the fray

    Research firms OpenAI and Anthropic also emerged as notable H-1B sponsors. OpenAI filed for 76 visas in FY25, up from 75 in FY24 and 11 in FY21. Anthropic backed 41 applications in FY25, USCIS data showed.

    Big picture

    • Indian IT firms are cutting visa reliance partly due to US protectionist sentiment but also because generative AI is reshaping outsourcing models.
    • Meanwhile, US tech giants are doubling down on bringing Indian engineers onsite to scale AI products, deepening their reliance on specialised talent, the news report said.

    Immigration rule changes from September 2025

    United States

    • From September 2, nearly all non-immigrant visa applicants must attend in-person interviews at consulates
    • Exemptions for children under 14, seniors over 79, and many renewals will largely end
    • Categories like F-1 students and H-1B professionals will be affected
    • The Department of Homeland Security also plans to replace the “duration of status” model with fixed stay periods, requiring extensions or reapplications

    United Kingdom

    • New restrictions will apply to asylum family reunifications
    • Conditions include income thresholds, English skills, and settlement periods
    • Judicial appeals will be phased out in favour of trained public panels to speed up cases

    New Zealand

    • Launching two new temporary visas: Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (up to three years) and Peak Seasonal Visa (up to seven months)
    • From September 1, investors under the Active Investor Plus scheme with NZ$5 million can buy or build residential property without the previous six-month residency requirement

    Australia

    • From September 13, the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa will lower its English language bar to vocational level (IELTS 5 in each band or equivalent in PTE Academic)
    • The move aims to widen access for industries facing acute labour shortages

    Business Standard