Informist, Friday, May 14, 2021
--Source: NASSCOM, Indian govt in talks to airlift vaccines
--Accenture, IBM may import vaccines for Indian employees
--Indian IT cos may import vaccines for employees
By Sai Ishwarbharath
CHENNAI – Information technology body NASSCOM is working with multinational corporations to airlift vaccines for their Indian employees, a source aware of the development told Informist.
A few India-based information technology companies may also take part in the exercise.
Companies such as Accenture, IBM and Cognizant, which have significant presence in the country, are planning to either enter into private treaties with the individual vaccine makers or float a special tender to procure vaccines from countries such as the US and UK, the source added on the condition of anonymity.
The government of India and the US Department of State as well are seen to be taking part in the negotiations.
This comes as the government on Thursday approved the information technology industry body's suggestion of importing any vaccine approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, and the licence will be granted within 1-2 days.
This will pave the way for companies to individually import vaccines such as AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine which is still awaiting approval in the US. The vaccine is branded and sold as Covishield in India.
Also, Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines could be now administered to the Indian information technology employees as they already have USFDA approval.
Accenture and Cognizant have close to 200,000 employees each in India while IBM's local arm has over 100,000 employees on its payroll.
Cognizant indicated that the second wave has resulted in higher absenteeism at its Indian delivery centres and terming its impact as "uncertain" to assess.
It also let go of revenue worth a few basis points due to the talent issues, the management said in a post-earnings call. However, analysts say the New Jersey-based firm is facing its own issues of involuntary attrition and top management exodus, and it is unlikely that such delivery issues would exist for other companies.
Analysts say the move to import vaccines primarily reflects the real care and responsibility information technology companies have for their staff and should not be seen as a business strategy.
FASTER RETURN?
Information technology companies getting vaccines privately could expedite the return of employees to centres in India and mitigate delivery risks, if any due to the second wave, say analysts.
"The help from NASSCOM and the IT majors could have a huge positive impact," said Phil Fersht, founder and chief analyst at US-based HfS Research. He cited the example of Pfizer that is proven to cut the risk of death by 97% for two doses and a single dose by 80% which is already having a "quicker-than-expected" impact on a return to normal in the US and UK.
If vaccines lower the severity of COVID, many staff can be expected to return to work in the next three to six weeks, he added. More data was needed on the efficacy of vaccines against the India variant of the virus, Fersht said.
The crisis is affecting capacity and projects but clients are very patient and understanding, say analysts. While the first wave did not affect delivery as work from home was relatively smooth, the second wave's impact is unlikely to drive work out of India as companies have ramped up their overseas hiring to manage local COVID-related troubles.
Currently, we don’t see any serious effort to send talent out of India, said Peter Bendor-Samuel, chief executive officer of IT consulting and research firm Everest Group. "At this time we don’t see this as a permanent shift in work as there is no other talent market in the world able to satisfy the demand that is building in the US and EU," he added.
IMPACT ON GROWTH
It's too early to gauge the cost impact of the second wave as there is no indication about when it will subside, said Hansa Iyengar, IT strategy and principal analyst, Omdia. "Needless to say 2021-22 (Apr-Mar) will be a challenging one in terms of growth."
It is to be noted that most Indian information technology companies have guided for double-digit growth on account of a lower base and strong deal pipline.
NASSCOM and Accenture declined to comment on the story. Mails sent to IBM's India arm did not elicit a reply. End
Edited by Aditya Sakorkar
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