Roshni Nadar: Tech Sees Opportunity Amid US Tariffs

Amid the ongoing global trade cross-currents, the tech industry remains "cautiously optimistic" and believes that tariff and inflationary pressures in the US may trigger cost-optimisation moves leading to "opportunities" for Indian IT companies, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson of HCL Group has said.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra - ranked fifth among the world's wealthiest women - termed the trade and tariff situation as "a double-edged sword". "We remain cautiously optimistic because we work for customers across these industries which could be impacted by tariffs, not us as an industry directly, especially in the largest markets, which is in the US," she said on the sidelines of an event.

At the same time, there is a realisation that the only way to counter tariff pressures, and indeed any rise in inflation, is cost optimisation. "That is where technology can help, so it is a bit of a double-edged sword in terms of what is happening, but there are opportunities," she said. The top boss of HCL Technologies, Nadar scripted history when she became the first Indian to step into the top 10 in Hurun Global Rich List 2025 for women.

Her climb to the coveted spot came after her father Shiv Nadar, the billionaire founder of HCL Technologies, transferred 47 per cent of his stake in HCL Corporation and Vama Sundari Investments (Vama Delhi) to her - a move that made her the largest shareholder of the USD 12 billion tech behemoth.