US rates cast a long shadow on Indian outsourcing

With US inflation surprisingly picking up speed again, the cheerless outlook for outsourcing jobs in India may turn even gloomier.

An uptick in white-collar youth unemployment may not affect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s prospects in the upcoming elections — the glitzy temple inauguration gala he has planned for Jan. 22 may be enough to keep his core Hindu voters electrified. Still, if the downturn in large American deals extends to next year, lackluster mass consumption in the world’s most-populous nation may start to weigh on an exuberant stock market that’s betting big on a third term for Modi.