By
Tridivesh Singh Maini
Africa-Press – Mauritius. Several commentators have viewed the recent announcement of the Trump administration to raise H-1B visa fees to $100,000 as an opportunity. This decision will specifically impact Indian Information Technology (IT) professionals and Indian IT companies, especially Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
Some states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP) have already stated that they would reach out to potential IT investors seeking to explore alternative options to the US. It would be pertinent to point out that professionals hailing from AP and Telangana were the top beneficiaries of the H-1B visa.
While it is true that cities like Hyderabad (Telangana), Vaishakhapatnam (AP), Bengaluru (Karnataka), and Gurgaon (Haryana) would be the preferred destination of IT investors for various reasons, another city that has the potential to attract IT companies—impacted by the recent proclamation of the Trump administration—is Pune (Maharashtra). Maharashtra’s IT market was estimated at $48 billion in 2024. Maharashtra’s IT exports in 2024 were over $30 billion. Pune and Mumbai (the capital of Maharashtra) are the important IT centers.
Pune already hosts a dense cluster of IT parks, global capability centers, SaaS firms, and deep-tech startups—Hinjewadi, Kharadi, and Magarpatta are among the city’s main tech belts—and a strong talent pipeline from local universities. That mix makes Pune a natural beneficiary of both trends.
Talent repatriation and retention.
As US H-1B routes narrow, many Indian IT professionals could opt to stay in India or return home. Pune firms and startups can capture this talent by offering senior technical roles, equity, and career tracks competitive with global offers—increasing local capability for complex product engineering.
UK PM’s visit: Opportunities for Maharashtra and Pune
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India earlier this month, which came months after a newly signed comprehensive trade agreement and dozens of AI and other tech sector delegations, registered real offers and commitments to invest in the country and deepen cooperation in the sphere of technology. Members of the delegation indicated that they want to collaborate with Indian technological centers in terms of research and development, fintech pilots, and AI laboratories.
New delivery center wins and nearshoring.
US and UK companies rethinking onshore hires may open delivery and R&D units in India. Pune’s existing infrastructure and lower operating costs make it attractive for British firms seeking trusted engineering partners following the PM’s trade engagements. The recent UK mission explicitly foregrounded AI and fintech collaboration, sectors where Pune has immense strength.
The need to create an investment-friendly ecosystem
The Maharashtra government and other relevant stakeholders can make it an attractive destination for potential investors by offering incentives for foreign R&D centers, streamlining land and utility clearances for IT parks, and promoting fast-track partnerships between Pune universities and UK firms. The Maharashtra Industry, Trade, and Investment Facilitation Cell (MAITRI), the state’s online platform, seeks to help potential investors—including IT companies. It is important that the platform be effectively used for addressing concerns of IT companies.
With the US H-1B favoring higher-paid roles, global firms will seek locations that can deliver high-quality human resources. There should be a focus on ensuring that manpower is of a high quality and has skills in areas like AI, cloud native, and product management.
Conclusion
In short, H-1B tightening nudges global companies to rethink where technical work is done; the UK PM’s visit is a golden opportunity for Pune to attract investments in the IT sector. With focused local policy support and employer action to attract repatriating talent and UK partners, Pune can convert recent economic and geopolitical challenges into opportunities. However, over the past few years, the FDI in the IT sector of Pune’s renowned IT special economic zone, Hinjewadi, has been dealing with challenges that several other Indian cities, including Bengaluru, face. Hinjewadi has expanded fast, but the infrastructure—roads, electrification, driveways, public transport—has not been able to keep pace with the growth in the number of companies and workers. The growth (Phase 1 – Phase 3, etc.) had increased the demands manifold, yet the upgrading of utilities and infrastructure has not been done accordingly. Electricity cuts are also frequent.
If Pune wants to attract talent, it will need to work on addressing the above challenges. The Maharashtra government, local authorities, IT businesses, and all other relevant stakeholders need to work together.
Several overseas tech companies are exploring potential opportunities in India, and while there are other cities that are generally the favored destinations for tech companies, Pune has immense potential. It has the potential of emerging as an important IT hub if some of the issues flagged earlier in the article are addressed effectively.
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