As Russian aggression shows no signs of abating, IT companies in Ukraine are looking at India to set up Offshore Development Centers (ODCs). PS Viswanath, Md and CEO, Randstad India, a recruitment firm, said that in the last one month, they got nearly 70 enquiries from IT companies based in Ukraine to look at the possibility of setting up ODCs in India. Viswanathan added that Ukraine IT companies are badly affected and staring at huge penalties from their clients if they don’t deliver. All their employees have vanished to Poland and Belarus. They are in a helpless situation, and looking at India. Due to the rising uncertainty of business recovery, many tech companies are moving their business out of the country and scouting for talent from neighboring countries, he told BusinessLine. He added that companies in banking, utilities, oil and energy are the primary sectors that could also be hunting for Indian talent in the upcoming months. “We think that around 65,000 jobs will get added to the Indian Job market if the war continues to impact the masses in the upcoming months. As most of the countries like Poland, Belarus, Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria depend on Ukraine to build their workforce, we see these mandates moving temporarily or permanently to India,” he said.   Ukraine is the number one IT outsourcing destination in Central & Eastern Europe, with GlobalLogic, Ciklum and Luxoft being some of the large companies looking at India. Incidentally, Ciklum in which former Cognizant CEO Francisco D’Souza's technology investment platform Recognize has invested - has a large centre in Chennai.   Several established IT services and product engineering firms have a significant presence in Ukraine. Nationwide, around 50,000 technology professionals are servicing over 5,000 clients, generating over $5 billion of export revenues from, said research firm ISG.   Source:  Thehindubusinessline.com

Bangladesh has invited the United States to explore opportunities in offshore blocks as Bangladesh identified 20 blocks through maritime boundary settlement. The US side assured Bangladesh of encouraging their companies to invest in Bangladesh. State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, while briefing reporters after bilateral meeting with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen E. Biegun, said they discussed it apart from other issues. Responding to a question, the State Minister said this is an open invitation but not for any specific US company. He said the two sides discussed ways to ensure faster economic recovery for Bangladesh in the post Covid-19 s scenario and the US side encouraged for larger discussion on Free Trade Agreement considering Bangladesh's growing economy. Bangladesh also sought preferential trade support for its products from the US to accelerate the economic recovery during the post-Covid era. The Bangladesh side also raised the Rohingya repatriation issue and laid emphasis on quick repatriation of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State. The US also reiterated its commitment to work to resolve the Rohingya crisis. They intend to engage themselves in this effort after the national election of Myanmar in November, said the State Minister. The US government has assured Bangladesh of taking steps so that US vaccines can be made available after successful production. The visa issue also came up for discussions. On Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), he said Bangladesh supports an inclusive, peaceful and participatory region. The US side expressed satisfaction that an American company has started supplying LNG to Bangladesh. The US Deputy Secretary of State arrived in the capital on Wednesday to discuss Bangladesh-US cooperation on Covid-19 response, recovery efforts and sustainable economic development. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen received the US Deputy Secretary of State upon his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from New Delhi, India after wrapping up his three-day visit there. US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller was also present, an official said. Biegun will meet Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday morning and discuss issues of mutual interest and issues related to Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), a senior official told UNB. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Gonobhaban at 12pm on Thursday. During discussions with the Bangladesh side, Biegun will reaffirm the Bangladesh-US partnership. The Deputy Secretary’s engagements in Bangladesh will focus on "advancing the common vision of a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and secure Indo-Pacific region" with shared prosperity for all, according to the Office of the Spokesperson at the US Department of State. Source: UNB AH