MyVoice: Views of our readers 30th January 2026

US tech companies cannot survive without Indians

This refers to the editorial, “Texas tremor to blight Indian’s entry into US.” Jan 29. Ever since Donald Trump assumed power as President of the United States, the administration adopted an increasingly antagonistic posture toward H-1B visa holders. Nearly 70 percent of these professionals are Indians, who form the backbone of America’s technology ecosystem.

However, inconsistent policy signals, restrictive rhetoric, and prolonged uncertainty have left H-1B holders anxious and unsettled. The situation has been further complicated by stalemates in bilateral trade negotiations, which have strained India–US relations. Yet the ground reality remains unchanged: America’s technology companies cannot survive or sustainably grow without Indian talent.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

II

Apropos “Texas tremor to blight Indians’ entry into US” (THI, January 29).Governor Abbott’s directive freezing new H-1B visa petitions by Texas state agencies and public universities until May 2027 understandably alarms many in the Indian community, given the state’s large Indian-origin population and reliance on skilled professionals in higher education, healthcare and research.

While the move aims to prioritise local workers amid federal scrutiny of the programme, it risks disrupting academic staffing, innovation and public services without addressing the private sector, where most H-1B holders work. Texas’s growth depends on global talent; balanced implementation would protect jobs while preserving competitiveness.

A Myilsamy, Coimbatore

Depreciation of Indian Rupee worrying

The Indian rupee have collapsed to an all-time low of 92.00 against the US dollar on Thursday. The fall came amid steady dollar demand and a cautious global mood after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its first policy meeting of 2026, pushing the dollar index up from its four-and-a-half-year lows.

The Economic Survey 2025–26, released on Thursday, offers a broader explanation for the rupee’s sustained weakness, describing it as a “paradox” in which domestic fundamentals are no longer rewarded with currency stability in an unsettled global system.

According to the survey, the rupee depreciated by around 6.5 per cent between 1 April 2025, and 22 January 2026, making it one of the weakest-performing currencies in this period. Its fall was comparable to that of the Japanese yen, which lost about 5.5 per cent, and steeper than declines seen in other Asian peers such as the Philippine peso and the Indonesian rupiah.

Bhagwan Thadani, Mumbai

Lady Principal for AU College of Engineering

It is gratifying to note that Prof. M Shashi is the first woman Principal of Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam and appointed as the first in 100 years. Close on the heels of a talk show by Kiran Prabha on the first ever Indian Engineer, Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha( 1919-79) that I listened to on 28th, the news of Prof.Shashi must be an inspiration to the girls that the sky should be the limit.

Physical parameters hindered them once upon a time but now it is proven that a girl child is par excellence. From a family perspective, as it is well said,” A son is a son till he gets a wife, a daughter is a daughter all her life”. As former President VV Giri once said, girls are more responsible on all fronts. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Prof.Shashi.

Dr T Ramadas, Visakhapatnam

The underbelly of reservations

Fraudsters always keep finding newer ways to circumvent rules and cheat in India. Perhaps the latest is a desperate attempt by an upper caste Hindu convert to Buddhist faith claiming minority quota for admission into a professional degree college.

This is a manifestation of the caste or religion based reservations in education and employment being continued for decades together by amending the constitution at will to reap benefits as part of vote bank politics. As long as these reservations continue, there will be no dearth of people trying to get around the rules.

Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada