H-1B visa fees' impact on GCC hiring; Helping families unlock EPF claims

Hello,

The H-1B visa issue has holders abroad in a tizzy. 

Panic, confusion, and anger followed as workers on H-1B visas from India and China were forced to abandon travel plans and rush back to the US after President Donald Trump imposed the new visa fees. 

There is now some clarity over who will be affected by the crackdown: A White House official on Saturday clarified that the order applied only to new applicants and not holders of existing visas or those seeking renewals. 

For those who were looking at Euro vacations, there was a new complication to contend with. Some of the region’s biggest and busiest airports, including London's Heathrow, raced to restore normal operations after hackers targeted check-in and boarding systems provider Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX. 

Disruption had eased significantly by early Sunday despite some continuing delays, and regulators said they were investigating the source of the cyberattack.

In other news, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix culminated spectacularly, with Max Verstappen coming out on top in yet another decisive victory. 

Verstappen looked in fine form from start to finish after taking pole position in a chaotic qualifying session earlier. The Dutch-Belgian racing driver is on a roll with back-to-back wins—the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix of June 2024.

McLaren’s got serious competition for its crown!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• H-1B visa fees' impact on GCC hiring
• Helping families unlock EPF claims

Here’s your trivia for today: What 1981 movie required some 7,000 snakes to be on set?

GCCs

H-1B visa fees' impact on GCC hiring

The unprecedented hike for the coveted H-1B visas to $100,000 by the Trump administration in the US may actually result in faster expansion of the global capability centres (GCCs) in India, as global corporations see the country as a hotbed of talent.

The sharp increase in H-1B visa fees is forcing companies to look at other options on how they can get access to talent, and India is one of the few promising ecosystems, given that the country produces an estimated 1.5 million engineers every year.

Key takeaways:

• GCCs are here in India primarily for the talent, which is available at competitive rates, but more importantly, also for the considerable tech expertise. Neither of these elements is available in large volumes in developed economies.
• According to V Balakrishnan, former Infosys board member and Chairman of Exfinity Ventures, the new visa fees will accelerate offshoring of work to India, since the talent will be based in the country.
• Indian IT services companies may see some short-term impact on how to deal with the new H-1B visa fees, but they seem to be well prepared to adjust to this change.

Startup

Helping families unlock EPF claims

In India, nearly Rs 2 lakh crore lies unclaimed in Employee Provident Funds, insurance, bank deposits, and other assets. This is money earned hard over the years, but many people are simply unaware of the funds they are entitled to or unsure how to claim them.

Kustodian.life is on a mission to change this. Founded by Harsh Jain and Kunal Kabra in 2023, the fintech startup is reimagining how Indians access, recover, and secure their financial future—with empathy at the core and AI as the enabler.

AI with empathy:

• The online platform guides families through EPF, pension, and EDLI (Employee's Deposit Linked Insurance) claims. Its AI-powered workflow untangles complex processes for PPF, bank deposits, insurance, and shares, cutting timelines from months to weeks.
• In its first year, Kustodian.life has already helped more than 1,200 families; 500 active cases are currently in progress. The platform has facilitated the recovery of over Rs 20 crore across EPF and related claims.
• The bootstrapped startup’s revenue has grown 3.5x from Rs 2.85 lakh in January to Rs 10 lakh in June. It is now operating at an annualised run rate of about Rs 1.2 crore, with a projection to touch Rs 3 crore by December 2025.

News & updates

• Negotiations: A US-China agreement on TikTok's US operations includes China's ByteDance choosing one of seven board members for the new entity, with Americans holding the six other seats, a senior White House official said.
• Thawing tensions: India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit the US on Monday with the view of getting a “mutually beneficial” trade deal, in a sign of easing tensions over tariffs and New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
• Regulations: With the support of Germany, the EU is moving to exclude Meta, Apple, Google and Amazon from a new system for sharing financial data designed to enable the development of digital finance products for consumers.

What you should watch out for

• India delegation to the US: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is set to lead a delegation to the United States on Monday, September 22, as momentum builds around India-US trade negotiations. The trip follows recent daylong talks in New Delhi between US Chief Negotiator Brendan Lynch and India’s Rajesh Agrawal regarding the proposed bilateral trade pact.
• GST overhaul: The Goods and Services Tax framework is scheduled for a significant overhaul starting Monday, September 22, 2025. Based on the recommendations of the 56th GST Council meeting, chaired earlier this month by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the government has unveiled a simplified tax structure.

What 1981 movie required some 7,000 snakes to be on set?

Answer: Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

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