Bangalore: In the wake of "unpleasant" incidents involving IT professionals abroad, Union Information Technology Ministry and NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) are setting out to provide "escort service" in terms of creating awareness on the Visa regime for those going overseas.

According to Union Information Technology Minister Arun Shourie, IT Secretary R R Shah has already held discussions with NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik in this regard.

They would jointly provide escort service to Indian IT professionals going overseas, he told reporters on April 1 when asked about the detention of a senior official of I-Flex in London. There were several lessons to be learnt from the incident, he said.

Quoting IT czar and chairman of Wipro Limited Azim Premji, Shourie said Indian IT companies needed to be "scrupulous" but hastened to add that he was not saying that they were not scrupulous.

Besides being very careful about Visa regimes in different countries, he said there was also a need for Indian firms to work closely with overseas customers, who are bound to bail them out in such situations.

He said the war in Iraq must be seen by Indian IT industry as an opportunity rather than something that would affect them adversely.

Shourie said worldwide recession would make Western firms to go in for cost-cutting measures and that's where India could benefit enormously.

PTI