Bangalore:
US President, Barack Obama, has made it clear many times that he views India as an economic threat.
In his latest mention of Bangalore, while talking to students, he said, "When students around the world in Beijing, or Bangalore, are working harder than ever, your success in school is not just going to determine your success, it's going to determine America's success in the 21st century."
"The fact is that Indian students work harder. Clearly when the talent is a global talent - students all over the world have to work harder to be relevant to the workforce needs of tomorrow," said Pradeep Kar, from Microland.
"He's telling the American students, get as serious as the Indian students. So we don't depend on someone from other countries to run the business in America, either remotely or onsite," reacted Kiran K Desai, from Wipro Infotech.
Obama's latest reference to Bangalore comes on top of his earlier anti-outsourcing rhetoric - he did famously urge American companies to say No to Bangalore and Yes to Buffalo. Add to that the higher visa charges for Indian IT professionals heading to the United States, Ohio's recent ban on outsourcing by its state government - and it does seem that his stand could dampen India's profitable BPO and IT industry. There are reports that some US companies are delaying long-term business commitments. But others view Obama's statements as a spur.
"It is a validation from the President that India is an intellectual capital. I would look at it from a very positive perspective that we are the biggest country breeding intellectuals - that is why we are today an IT super power. He has his own concerns for his own country, but nothing will stop India from emerging as a superpower not only in IT but in other areas also. I have no concerns on this," said P Radhakrisnan, from Infotech.
Perhaps by mentioning Bangalore so often - Obama is actually giving a boost to the city's image as an IT powerhouse - and that can't be all bad.