New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- The Nifty IT index fell 3% on Monday after a new cog in the wheel emerged for India's information technology services sector, which is in desperate need of catalysts to revive revenue growth. The US's one-time fee of $100,000 on new H-1B visa applications, up from $1,000, will make it more expensive for Indian IT services companies to do business in their largest market.

Lately, Indian IT companies have cut dependency on H-1B visas, opting instead to transfer US-related business to Canada or Mexico. The impact of the H-1B visa changes on the earnings per share (EPS) of tier-1 Indian IT companies is expected to be limited, while tier-2 companies such as Persistent Systems Ltd and Mphasis Ltd may feel relatively more...