Bangalore: The United States economy benefitted to the tune of $ 16.8 billion last fiscal even as India's code writers exported $ 8.5 billion worth software and services to the country's largest IT market, according to NASSCOM.

While the projected software and services exports to US in 2003-04 was $ 8.5 billion, the savings accrued by offshoring to India touched $ 10-11 billion, besides $ 3 billion hi-tech imports from US to India," the country's leading IT body said in its update for June.

Indian IT professionals contributed $ 500 million to US Social Security and paid another $ 500 million as income tax, besides spending over $ 1.8 billion during their visits.

"US businesses have witnessed significant cost savings from offshoring to India apart from reaping productivity and quality benefits," it said.

Quoting an analysis by leading consultancy firm McKinsey and Co, it said the IT-Enabled Services market is likely to touch $ 142 billion in 2009.

"This is against the current cost of $ 532 billion for these services. The difference of $ 390 billion is the net saving the US economy can expect from offshoring. This will have a huge economic impact of tangible Dollar savings leading to value creation for shareholders and ultimately affect the common man," said NASSCOM, even as it is embarking to lobby against a spate of anti-outsourcing Bills in the US.

Indian IT companies, of which 170 have physical establishments, have contributed to the US economy by employing nearly 60,000 people in the US in 2001.

These 60,00 people paid nearly $ 810 million in taxes - federal and local - and paid nearly $ 300 million to social security in 2001, it said.

"The US banking, financial services and insurance sector have emerged globally competitive and their costs lower by seven to 10 per cent compared to their European counterparts. US BFSI firms have saved $ 6 billion in the past four years by offshoring to India. During the same period, these companies have added 125,000 new jobs, helped by these savings, which enabled them to prevent layoffs," NASSCOM said.

The US BFSI sector has received productivity gains of 15 to 20 per cent and also customer satisfaction of almost 85 per cent due to offshoring to India, it said.

PTI