INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
visas but has not heard anything official from Washington on capping such permits for Indians, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.Reuters
reported on Wednesday the United States had told India it was considering caps on H-1B work visas for countries that force foreign companies
to store data locally, according to sources familiar with the matter.Asked about the report during a news conference, foreign ministry
spokesman Raveesh Kumar said there had been no official communication from the United States on the issue."We have not heard anything
officially from the United States government
We continue to reiterate and engage with the US government on this matter," Kumar said, without elaborating.News of the US plan to restrict
H-1B visas comes days before a visit to India by United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Disagreements between the countries over trade have resulted in tit-for-tat tariffs in recent weeks.Two senior Indian officials said they
were briefed last week on the US plan to cap the number of H-1B visas given annually to Indians at between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of
the total number issued.There is no country-specific limit on the 85,000 H-1B work visas that the United States grants each year, and an
estimated 70 per cent of them go to Indians.Indian IT stocks fell on Thursday following concern about any work visa curbs
restrictions on data flows to gain better control over it, and curb the power of foreign firms
localisation rules around the world.India's data storage rules announced last year upset US payment companies such as Mastercard.India is
also working on a broad data protection law that would impose strict rules for domestic processing of data it considers sensitive.Mr Kumar
said the Indian government remained in talks with the United States on the issue of data localisation.The government would also take a
decision on involvement of Chinese telecom giant Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co in 5G trials, based on India's economic and
security interests, Kumar said.The global roll out of 5G technology has been complicated by US sanctions against Huawei
big trading partners since President Donald Trump took office.Donald Trump has made use of tariffs to punish trading partners like China,
the European Union, Canada and Mexico, saying they flood the United States with cheap products and put up unfair economic barriers at
home.Mr Kumar said the overall direction of ties with the United States was positive
Defence relations have expanded with the United States becoming one of India's top arms suppliers, replacing traditional partner Russia.
