India IT demand outlook remains uncertain amid US tariff risks, says Wipro chair

BENGALURU: The demand outlook for India’s $283-billion IT sector remains uncertain due to U.S. tariff risks and global geopolitical factors, a senior Wipro executive said on Wednesday.

“Customers are getting acclimatised to living in a world that is uncertain,” said Rishad Premji, executive chairman of the country’s fourth-largest IT firm by revenue.

“The (overall) environment remains uncertain. It has not gotten any worse but not gotten significantly better at the moment.”

He was speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting ahead of first-quarter results scheduled to be announced on Thursday.

Clients have tightened non-essential or discretionary spending and are focussing more on cost-cutting projects enabled through tech, said Premji.

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Uncertainty around U.S. tariffs have dashed hopes of IT companies of a revival in client confidence and spending in its biggest market. A survey in May showed two in five tech executives had deferred discretionary projects.

Premji, however, said green shoots had emerged in pockets in terms of discretionary spending.

Indian IT companies have so far reported tepid earnings for the June quarter.

Last Thursday, bellwether Tata Consultancy Services missed quarterly revenue estimates as its clients stayed cautious about non-essential spending amid U.S. tariff-related uncertainty.

TCS CEO K Krithivasan said delays in decision-making and project starts “intensified” in the June quarter, adding that it was “too early” to predict when the growth would resume.

HCLTech reported June-quarter profit below analyst estimates on Monday and lowered its operating margin forecast for fiscal 2026.