This sort of thing is also harmful for native IT development for an outsourcing destination such as India. Since the motive of work channeled to India is simply

This sort of thing is also harmful for native IT development for an outsourcing destination such as India. Since the motive of work channeled to India is simply cheaper costs, good software engineers have a limited run. One of the direct fallout is time-based promotions instead of merit-based. Some salient points: a) Average entry salary(0 years exp.) for an IT worker is about $6k. After applying PPP(purchasing power parity) of 2.9(source:http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/harish-damodaran/article1540678.ece)it http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/harish-d... amounts to $18k. In the US the average is about $60-65k (http://www.whatsalary.com/us/salary/SOFTWARE-ENGINEER-T6812.htm http://www.whatsalary.com/us/salary/SOFTWARE-ENGINEER-T6812....). TLDR:Entry level, India($18k after PPP) vs USA($60-65k). b) Why is the above data relevant to this discussion? H1B is a red herring basically saying, "Look we tried looking for locals alright. They are just not qualified. Look at the Indians we got, they work all the time." I don't think the 800-900 workers IBM imports translate to a huge savings compared to 100,000+ workers it employs in India. While in India, the H1B is a carrot for workers to continue slogging on. c) How is it bad for India? It's bad for India for exactly the same reasons. There is no desperation for innovation as a software job is easily available. This is also the reason India has not produced even a single Google or a Nokia. Recently I was offered a contract job. I quoted the global market rate(after applying PPP). The response I got back was shocking and humiliating. "India's GDP is $3700. Why is your quotation so high?" I apologized for earning more than India's GDP and refused.