Then, when the outsourcing controversy broke and India become the politicians whipping boy in their search to find a scapegoat to blame for American job layoffs, Baucus stood on the frontlines, calling for a legislation to cut off federal funding for agencies or corporates outsourcing to India while receiving government funding or assistance.
But, a trip to Bangalore last month changed all that, making Baucus turn over a new leaf over the issue. Not only has the American Senator changed his views on the trend of off-shoring / outsourcing, it seems he simply can t stop raving about India, now. Addressing the National Press Club last week, Baucus reviewed his recent trip to India and China by kicking off his remarks with reminisces about his meeting with India s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Recalling his hitch-hiking days around the world, while a student at a Stanford University program in France, Baucus said: Forty three years ago, I was in Delhi, (while staying at the YMCA) I learned that Prime Minister Nehru met with Americans every second Thursday. So I made an appointment. I took my wrinkled blazer out of my backpack. I smoothed it out as best as I could. And I headed over to the Prime Minister s office. I met with Nehru for more than half an hour. Here I was, a young student from Montana, talking with the man who had led India to independence, united its many peoples, and steered its economy. It was a life-changing experience. Last week, 43 years later, I went back to India. This time, I went as a United States Senator, with a delegation of Montanans. We travelled to Bangalore and Delhi. We also went to Beijing and Chongqing, China. We went to learn about the challenges and opportunities presented by the economic rise of India and China. Forty-three years ago I saw Prime Minister Nehru, the Taj Mahal, and New Delhi s imposing British architecture. Forty-three years ago, I saw India s history. Last week, I saw India s future. I saw the future in the faces of confident, young engineering students at Delhi s Indian Institute of Technology, who have no doubt that the India of tomorrow, will be better than the India their parents left them. I saw the future in Delhi s super-modern subway that snakes its way beneath that teeming city of almost 14 million.
Further, he said he was impressed with: the future at Bangalore s Infosys, whose futuristic architecture, state-of-the-art technology, and commitment to excellence has made it a global technology leader. I saw the future in the eyes of Indian government leaders, who are bent on making 21st century India the world s engine.
In his remarks titled: Advancing American Competitiveness in a Changing World, Baucus noted India has developed a higher education that produces tens of thousands of incredibly gifted graduates per year. It has created a world-class Information Technology sector, which has grown an astounding 50 percent annually for over 10 years. And, with new billion-dollar investments by Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Intel, and others, India s IT industry could swell fivefold in just two years.
He also noted, while India was transforming itself, US economy was losing some of its competitive advantage, and had already lost American pre-eminence in information technology, only to fall behind Singapore, Iceland, Finland and Denmark. He remarked the American challenge was to learn why some jobs were moving overseas, and argued we must see the facts for what they are. He cautioned against viewing Chinese and Indian economic successes as a zero-sum game. Their economic gains do not depend on our losses. We can all prosper. We can all grow. Opportunities for America abound in a successful China and India. But, we are not taking advantage of them.
On his tour of the sub-continent, he had seen India was investing tens of billions of dollars on infrastructure projects, projects that were also open to American companies. But, Indian government and business leaders reminded me in every meeting that American companies are not there. These opportunities are instead going to Malaysian, French, Korean, and other investors. said the Senator.
Spelling out an agenda to meet the challenge and opportunity India and China present to the US, Baucus said education is a priority if US is to remain competitive. We must again learn to value education .We must make the priority of lifelong learning an inseparable part of American society and American culture. China and India place an enormous premium on education. We need to do likewise.
He added anti-off-shoring / outsourcing reactions were pass and America could not afford to knee-jerk anymore. And, on being asked what role he would assign America in India s economic development to mutually benefit both Indian and US economies, Baucus reiterated: We should show up. We need to be there. We need a much greater presence in India.
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