A Template Set. The Extraordinary Purpose and the Journey: A Four-Year Onsite Retrospective.

Well, I am done with my onsite work in US last month and came back home on May 15th. What began as a work of unknown stint back in April 2022 has kept me occupied for 4 intense, hard and great years of wonderment. Let me tell one thing straight – more than anything, it is my destiny that is written for me that I need to work in US for some known and unknown reasons. Everything else happened towards fulfilling that cause. Be it 5 years of great service in India prior, be it working in multiple companies and landing in Infosys, be it infosys becoming an enabler in this grand orchestration of things etc happened to fulfill this beautiful period of time. I will term it as divine work of 4 years which happened by virtue of God's grace, divine destiny and blessings from one and all. I firmly believe this is one of the holiest of causes happened through me. It is the greatness of US to pull me into its fold that unfolded this tenure to take shape. If I remember, way back in June 2017, when I am returning from US after yet another tenure of job search failure, the officer at the airport in New York was saying to everyone ‘See you back again’. I immediately remember, I am making multiple visits to this country, year after year, and this greeting is apt for me. But my visa expired in August 2017 and I had little chance of getting back. But destiny has it that, and to make the greeting true, the five years that followed in India beautifully set up the last four years in US. The point is, the US wished me back – a pointless person – nudging me into a path to find some way to get back to the rich nation. I, my company and everyone else are all mere players in this grand scheme of things, doing our part. Once again, it is destiny and Gods highest plan to make this dream a reality, nothing less. I ask for forgiveness if I misbehave or talk nonsense or belittle anyone in the past, regarding the same. Another thing I strongly believe is it is written in destiny that I use the platform provided by Infosys for this great work, to enhance the greatness of the platform and both the countries, along with that.  

Let us look at four outcomes or objectives of the visit. 1. To take India to glorious heights, after centuries of suppression, it is a required, correct step in right direction and a small attempt from a small being. 2. To serve US towards consolidating its power and work towards another great century, it is a small attempt from a small person. 3. To serve Indian IT and my company, a bread and butter of millions of my ilk, it is a small step from a small person. 4. To serve the world from the highest point and to drive meaningful outcomes while maintaining its order, it is a small step from a small person. As we can see, all the four objectives have been greatly fulfilled during this time, not to mistake never entirely by one person. While it is never about statistical objectives, when you work towards highest goals and causes, greater things follow suit. The below will reinforce the same. It is all about being in the right place enforcing right things with your work for an amazing outcome. 

To tell little bit about each objective and how it is fulfilled, India has consistently clocked above 7% growth rate in these four years. When compared with rest, India has therefore been growing roughly 2–4 times faster than most developed economies and significantly faster than many large emerging economies. The most recent Q4 of 2025-26 also logged an impressive 7.8%. There is an aspiration to look forward to and there is an inspiration driving from behind. The result is silent years of cumulative and holistic progress, the stability of which is extremely difficult to give to any nation requiring greatest of pulls. While we can hope the churning is over and inspiration is drawn, the hope is also to see this far into the future. The U.S. nominal GDP grew from about $26.1 trillion in 2022 to approximately $32.4 trillion in 2026, adding more than $6 trillion to the economy in four years. Make no mistake, understand what you are standing at the center of, in relative terms. This means the U.S. economy alone added economic output roughly equivalent to the entire GDP of major developed countries during this period. With the impressive growth rate, India added a mere 900 billion in four years while US added a whopping $ 6 trillion to economy in the same period, because the base is much larger even with smaller growth rate. This is the extreme difficulty of living through and overseeing a great period of maintenance and tremendous growth on top of that. The biggest development from 2022–2026 was undoubtedly around a novel technology of Artificial Intelligence. The US continues to innovate for itself and for the world and we can hope these years are productive in that direction. Coming to the third objective, the growth in my own field which is Indian IT is not explosive or quick but measured and steady. This is where I expect miracles to happen nevertheless. India's IT industry grew from about $227 billion in revenue and 5.4 million employees in 2022 to nearly $315 billion and 6 million employees by 2026. IT exports rose from around $178 billion to over $224 billion. Infosys increased revenue from about $18.2 billion to over $20 billion, while its workforce grew from roughly 3.14 lakh to around 3.3 lakh employees. The period also marked a strategic shift from traditional outsourcing to AI, cloud, digital engineering, and Global Capability Centre-led growth. As we can see from the results, a small growing India and Indian IT contributed tremendously to the cause and golden period of US in this period. Ever since internet era, this great phase is extremely critical to consolidate all the past achievements. After the highs of year 2k, the nation returned to a state where manufacturing revived; semiconductor production returned, unemployment stayed low, and the country became the epicenter of the global AI revolution. There will be no greater service to US to achieve the same. As we can see, everyone participated in the wave but there has to be environment conducive for the wave in first place. All the leaders and great old presidents deserve all the credit for maximizing the potential and outcome of a great country. Coming to the fourth objective, the world emerged from the pandemic era, survived inflation shocks and geopolitical conflicts, and entered a new technological age led by Artificial Intelligence, digital infrastructure, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing. Global nominal GDP increased from roughly $101–103 trillion in 2022 to approximately $123–124 trillion in 2026, an increase of more than $20 trillion in four years. The world economy now generates about $340 billion of economic output every day. As we can see, the world at large is most prosperous at this point of time when compared to any time in history. To compare, global GDP is mere $34 trillion in 2000 and it has climbed 4 times in 25 years to a record 126 trillion in 2026. This is how even poorest of countries will become affluent when there is holistic growth and catches up to the rest. Humanity enjoyed unprecedented wealth, knowledge, connectivity, longevity, and technological capability. At the same time, it stood at a crossroads—possessing the tools to solve many of its greatest challenges, yet facing critical decisions about climate, artificial intelligence, sustainability, and equitable distribution of prosperity. Nevertheless, other than very minute disturbances and wars, the world at large is in great standing. 

As I said, all the four objectives are fulfilled by a good margin, and the purpose of the visit is served by ticking all the boxes. The highest purpose is called in Telugu as "Loka Kalyanam" or universal well-being and this is thoroughly taken care of. This onsite stint gives a good template for everyone far into the future to care for our countries and the world. Hope many people travel to fulfill these objectives far into the future. I might have made little mess towards the end of the tenure but I did not make the bigger mess. The bigger mess from my point is, if something bad happened to me. So big are the threats and dangerous working conditions that I could have broken down with my thinking brain, my heart, my kidneys, my legs and any part which is on line most of the time. I have the ill feelings of a billion people for flying over them and never returning home after 6 months, 1 year, two years etc. There is a constant envy, jealousy from everyone. There are constant conspiracies hatched at my back. To factor all these, look after my well being and return safely, rounding off the mission is the biggest mission impossible made possible with my actions. The bigger mess was avoided thus. I thank everyone who became part of my story. Above all of this, I really like to work in US and never intended to return home if not for unfortunate factor towards the end. I could have taken care of these objectives for much longer. Nevertheless, I hope I exited at a right time, not too short or too long. 

As I said, above all of these objectives, the affinity for US is a constant inspiration that has driven me from within to give the best. As long as we work for the people and not set goals, everything else fall in place. By that I mean, US has become much better country with much better people. In the end, the greatest lesson from these four years is that meaningful work is never about numbers, positions, countries, companies, or even personal achievements. Those are merely outcomes that follow when one is aligned with a larger purpose. GDP figures, revenues, growth rates, technological revolutions, and economic milestones may help us understand the magnitude of an era, but they do not explain what truly drives progress. At the heart of every great nation, every successful company, every technological breakthrough, and every prosperous period are people—their aspirations, their hard work, their sacrifices, and their hope for a better future. 

Looking back, I realize that the most important objective was not to contribute to a statistic or participate in a historic phase of growth. It was to serve people in whatever limited capacity I could. When we work for people, countries automatically become stronger. When we work for people, companies become better platforms for progress. When we work for people, innovation finds purpose. When we work for people, prosperity becomes meaningful because it reaches lives rather than remaining confined to numbers. 

Perhaps that is why the experience of living and working in the United States remained such a powerful source of inspiration throughout this journey. Beyond its economic strength, technological leadership, or global influence, what stands out is the constant effort of millions of people striving to improve their communities, institutions, and future. The same spirit is visible in India's rise, in the growth of Indian IT, and in the progress being made across the world. Behind every statistic are countless individuals doing their part, often unnoticed, yet collectively shaping history. 

As I close this chapter and return home, I do so with immense gratitude. Gratitude to the United States for the opportunities, experiences, and inspiration. Gratitude to India for providing the foundation, values, and aspirations that made the journey possible. Gratitude to Infosys for being the platform through which this chapter unfolded. Gratitude to colleagues, friends, family, well-wishers, and even critics, all of whom became part of the story in one way or another. 

Most importantly, I leave with the belief that if we keep people at the center of our actions, everything else eventually falls into place. Growth follows. Prosperity follows. Innovation follows. Stability follows. The world becomes a little better than it was before. That, perhaps, is the essence of service and the true meaning of Loka Kalyanam—working not merely for oneself, nor even for a country, but for the well-being of all. 

The four years may have come to an end, but the purpose remains unchanged: wherever life takes us next, may we continue to contribute, however modestly, to people, to society, to our nations, and to the world. In the grand scheme of things, that is all any of us can do—and it is more than enough.