The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is a trade association of Indian Information Technology (IT) and

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit organization. NASSCOM is a global trade body with over 1200 members, of which over 250 are global companies from the US, UK, EU, Japan and China. NASSCOM's member companies are in the business of software development, software services, software products, IT-enabled/BPO services and e-commerce. NASSCOM has been a proponent of global free trade in India. NASSCOM strongly supports the elimination of the cap on H-1B visas in the United States as this protectionist anti free market legislation allows overpaid under skilled American nationals to hold jobs which are better and cheaply performed by Indian expatriates. NASSCOM was set up in 1988 to facilitate business and trade in software and services and to encourage advancement of research in software technology. It is a not-for-profit organization, registered under the Indian Societies Act, 1860. Currently, NASSCOM is headquartered in New Delhi, India with regional offices in the cities of Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Kolkata.

NASSCOM initiatives

Domestic Market Initiative: It provides the platform to link the non IT sector with the IT industry and to develop a vision for sustainable growth of the domestic IT market. Innovation Initiative: It seeks to address the specific needs of the large, medium and small companies and create a conducive ecosystem in the country. Education Initiative: Under this initiative, NASSCOM aims to enhance graduate employability through appropriate skill enrichment and act as bridge between industry, academia and government. Women in Leadership-IT Initiative: NASSCOM has launched the Women in LeadershipIT Initiative to enhance participation of women into the workforce and create more women leaders in the IT-BPO industry. Security Initiative: Aim towards creating an enabling environment in the country for information security and compliance through awareness and conducive legal framework. The Data Security Council of India is one such security initiative.

NASSCOM Forums

BPO Forum: Aims to build a sustainable ITES-BPO advantage in India through research, events and manpower development initiatives. EMERGE Forum: The forum serves as a platform to the SME segment to share experiences, ally on critical projects and even focus on partnerships to cater to customer demands..

An EMERGE Blog and EMERGE community site facilitates collaboration amongst members.

Flagship Events
NASSCOM organizes the India Leadership Forum in Mumbai every year.

Membership
NASSCOMs members are primarily companies run by Indian nationals in the business of software development, software services, and IT-enabled/BPO services. The consortium was set up to facilitate Indian business and trade in software and services and to encourage advancement of research in software technology by Indians. It is a non-profit organization, funded entirely by its members. NASSCOM has played a role in ensuring quality of service, and the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in the Indian Software and BPO industry. As on June 2007, more than 1,100 information technology companies in India were members of NASSCOM. Membership includes domestic software / ITES companies as well as multinationals operating in India. The wide range of member companies gives NASSCOM the ability to represent the interests of the Indian software industry with authority. NASSCOM also has a Mentorship Programme for the mid sized companies. This is a six month engagement, which will help the organization to develop a better assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.

Prominent members
Here is a list of prominent members of executive council of NASSCOM

Rajendra S Pawar - Chairman of NASSCOM for 2010-2011 Som Mittal - President of NASSCOM for 2009-2010 Pramod Bhasin - Chairman of NASSCOM(former) Harsh Manglik -Chairman of NASSCOM for 2010-2011 Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar as the new Chairman of its Executive Council for the year 20112012 (April 26, 2011) Nandan Nilekani Bhaskar Pramanik Bobby Mitra Sharad Sharma Raman Roy