Will Continue to Raise H-1B, L1 Visa Fee Hike With US: Prasad

The Centre will continue to take up the issue of hike in visa fees for Indian software professionals working in the US at the highest level with that government, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Sunday.

"As far as (issue of) H-1B and L1 visa fee hike is concerned, we have taken it up with the highest level (the US government). Even Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has spoken to US President, I have also taken it up and we will continue doing so," the Communications and IT Minister told reporters in Hyderabad.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Heads of Circles Conference organised by the Department of Posts.

"I can only say one thing, Indian companies pay tonnes of money in tax to US companies. Our companies are giving good IT value addition to Fortune 500 companies of US. It is a very reciprocal commitment which we are giving," he said.

Prasad said domestic IT companies are present in 200 cities across 80 countries and that India today occupies 56 percent of the world outsourcing hub.

"It is because of the talent, human resource of Indian IT products and companies including from Hyderabad," he said.

The minister announced that the Department of Posts will provide 130,000 network-connected hand-held devices to postmen working in rural areas to carry out postal transactions by next year.

"By next year (March 2017) we will be giving hand-held devices to all the postmen in rural areas of the country which they will use to carry out transactions of banking, insurance and mail services.

"On a pilot-basis, 4,000 handheld devices have been given to postmen in six states to see their functioning," he said.

On state-run BSNL, Prasad said, "When (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee government left office in 2004, BSNL was in profit of Rs 10,000 crores, however, when Manmohan Singh government left office in 2014, BSNL was in a loss of Rs 8,000 crores".

He claimed that in last 20 months of NDA rule, the BSNL has come to operative profit of Rs 672 crore for first time in seven years.

Responding to a query, Prasad said all manufacturers of mobile phones in the country will have to provide a 'panic button' (aimed at improving the safety of women) from January 2017 and from January 2018 every mobile phone must have a GPS location.

"These two unique initiatives of India by the Ministry of Communication are designed to ensure women safety through technology which is generating a lot of excitement world over," he said.