NEW DELHI: Unfazed by US presidential candidate Barack Obama's remarks on outsourcing, industry body Nasscom on Friday said Indian software exports are unlikely to be affected by this as offshoring is a key economic decision for US companies. "We are not sure whether he had meant outsourcing in the software sector or the manufacturing sector.

But I don't think the software exports will be affected or slow down... Such decisions (to outsource) are determined by economic considerations by (US) companies and they will find a way to remain competitive. Outsourcing is one of those ways," Nasscom President Som Mittal told PTI when asked if Obama's comment is targeted at software services exports from countries like India. India's software exports led by companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro draw over 70 per cent of revenue from the US market. The software and services exports segment grew by 29 per cent to register revenues of $40.4 billion in 2007-08, up from $31.4 billion in 2006-07.

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US presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday said if elected to the post, he would not give any tax sops for companies that outsource work out of the country. "I will start giving them (tax breaks) to companies that create good jobs right here in America", Obama had said in his acceptance speech. "US companies are facing shortage of talent to drive the growth. It is in their interests, Mittal said. Mittal said unemployment is an emotional issue and technology companies in US are certainly not facing any unemployment problem.

They all are hiring for growth. "So where is the question of unemployment", Mittal said while asking the industry not to overreact on the issue. "These are political statements made by a candidate.. I don't think we should react too much to it," he said. Asked if Nasscom would hire any professional agency to influence the US policy makers on the benefits of outsourcing, he said "there is no need. We always provide supportive data to think tanks and other associations to supplement out position and would continue to do that", he said.