India IT braces for visa headwinds, trade risk as AI and GCC expansion accelerate

India’s USD 280-billion IT industry is heading into 2026 facing tighter visa rules and global trade uncertainty, even as companies make their biggest push yet into artificial intelligence and global capability centres. Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme including a proposed USD 100,000 fee and concerns over a possible 25 per cent outsourcing tax has complicated overseas delivery models for Indian IT firms.