PM Modi gives fresh 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' push after Trump announces H-1B visa fee hike impacting Indian techies

Addressing a rally in Gujarat's Bhavnagar, the Prime Minister said, "Our self-respect will be at stake if we remain dependent on others. We can't leave our future at the mercy of others.

"We can't depend on others for our own development and risk our future generations. So the solution to all problems is Aatmanirbhar Bharat."

"India has no alternative to self-reliance. People must resolve to make in India any product, be it chip or ship... we have potential as well as planning," the PM added in his home state.

Meanwhile, Modi's arch-rival Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the PM calling him "weak" in the backdrop of Trump's new move.

Sharing a news article on X, Rahul wrote on X, "I repeat, India has a weak PM."

His jibe is the continuation of his relentless attack on the PM in the backdrop of the Trump administration's imposition of 50 percent tariff on goods from India.

India is already battling the trade issues as well as the tariff war with the Trump administration, which has, however, made outreaches to New Delhi after the Modi government stood firm on its ground.

In a major crackdown on immigration and imposing limitations on legal immigration, Trump on Friday announced as quoted by CNN, "We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that’s what’s going to happen."

In a statement issued sharing details about the proclamation, the White House said: "The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to bring temporary workers into the United States to perform additive, high-skilled functions, but it has been deliberately exploited to replace, rather than supplement, American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labour."

The White House said the large-scale replacement of American workers through 'systemic abuse' of the program has undermined both our economic and national security. 

The statement pointed out that Information technology (IT) firms, in particular, have prominently manipulated the H-1B system, significantly harming American workers in computer-related fields. 

"The share of IT workers in the H-1B program grew from 32 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 to an average of over 65 percent in the last 5 fiscal years," reads the statement.

The White House said the abuse of the H-1B program is posing a national security threat.

Following Trump's announcement,  major tech firms like Meta, Microsoft have urged the H-1B visa holders to not leave the United States at least for the next 14 days or return to the country if outside within 24 hours.

As per a report by NDTV,  the companies have urged the visa holders who are outside the country to return within 24 hours to avoid denial of re-entry.

Meta has asked its H-1B visa and H4 status holders to stay in the US for at least 14 days "till practical applications" are understood, the report said.

Microsoft has asked its employees to stay in the country.