The good news for the IT sector is that Obama will be the first U.S. President to bring in a CTO. He is clearly a tech-savvy person and understands the importance of funding and creating American-led technology programs. It is possible that Obama's present-day "Tennessee Valley Authority" turns out to be a major investment in technology infrastructure. The TVA created jobs and spurred the economy through the building of roads, dams, bridges, and so on. Obama might do the same with broadband, applications, Bluetooth, etc.

How will all of this affect India and the outsourcing market in general?

When Obama takes office, he will have so many large-scale issues to deal with it is highly unlikely outsourcing is high on his priority list. Even if he attacks the , who cares? , because they have evolved far beyond their initial business models, which relied so heavily on bringing people onsite in staff augmentation mode. The foundation of Indian IT services companies is no longer just providing labor arbitrage-it is now deep with business models and services based on productivity increases, faster time-to-market of products, quality improvements, intellectual property, and so on.

For years, the Indian IT and services market was symbolized by companies such as: , MindTree, TCS, , Satyam, and so on. But, this is no longer the case. It is now represented by global brands such as: , IBM, Intel, Microsoft, AOL, Motorola, SAP, Accenture, Citibank, Fidelity, AMEX, and Target who all have large facilities and direct employee bases in India. These companies depend on their India centers to help them drive global revenues and stay competitive. Obama's proposed $3,000 tax credit to employers for each employee hired in the U.S. will not affect any decision-making in this regard, because

Also, Indian business models are more diverse than in the past, so they can withstand economic fluctuations better. Yes, most Indian companies will be hurt by the inevitable decrease in IT Capex spending by companies, but on the other hand, U.S. companies will need to , which could be a boon for India.