The protectionist measures of the US government is a matter of concern, said Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Technologies Ltd, India's third-largest software services exporter. The steps proposed were contrary to the statements made by the US president on expanding free trade at the recently held G20 summit, Premji added.

Premji was speaking at the opening of Wipro's product qualification and compliance certification facility, Tarang, in Bangalore.

This facility will see an investment of $8.5 million over a period of time, and will be equipped to test electronic products in the aerospace, automotive, computing, consumer electronics, industrial automation, medical electronics and telecommunication industries.

Responding to a query on the proposed changes in corporate taxes in the US, which could possibly impact IT outsourcing, Premji said, ''We are reading too much into it...one needs to wait and see.'' However, he also called on President Barack Obama to "exercise a lot of judgement" while addressing the tax reforms issue that could hit outsourcing in a big way.

Commenting on the global economy, he said, ''There are some signs of stability and a recovery is expected during the second half of the current fiscal.'' Premji also said that the second half of this fiscal should be better for IT industry as some signs of stability are now visible in the global economy. The software exporter has given lower revenue guidance for the current fiscal.

Girish Paranjpe, joint chief executive, business, said things were turning positive though the company was not expecting any rapid recovery. Most IT budgets of their clients have been reset for the tougher economic conditions, and corporate houses could look at higher spending in the near future, he added. At the same time, Wipro does not expect much change in the pricing environment.

Paranjpe said his company's optimism stemmed from the moods of the clients. "The panic that was there is finally abating. If things remain at current levels and if nothing goes wrong then hopefully we will see a better second half (in the current fiscal)," he said.

Paranjpe expects consumers to start spending in the next few months if the current stability persists. At present, he said, even though consumer spending in western economies is starting to look up a bit, corporate expenses are still anaemic as companies continue to be in a "wait and watch mode".

And even though the company's deal pipeline looks healthy, clients are taking longer to take decisions. "What used to take six months is today taking nine months. Decision-making (period) is extended because people are cautious. People don't want to commit too much too early unless they are 100 per cent sure," said Paranjpe.