New Delhi: India has strongly objected to US Vice President J D Vance's description of foreign workers, including Indians, as "contract slaves", highlighting their contribution to America's economic growth and innovation.

The controversy comes amid a US government investigation into alleged irregularities in hiring foreign workers under the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) labour certification process, which allows employers to seek certification for eligible foreign workers applying for permanent residency.

Under the PERM process, employers must demonstrate that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and employment opportunities of American workers.

Several Indian companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and HCL, as well as US-based Microsoft, have reportedly faced temporary suspensions from the programme amid the scrutiny.

Commenting on the issue, Vance cited Microsoft's workforce reductions and foreign-worker hiring. He said the company laid off 6,000 American employees last year while using 6,300 H-1B visas and 3,000 green cards during the same period.

He described the foreign workers as "contract slaves" and claimed they earned 4.5 million rupees less annually than American workers.

India's Ministry of External Affairs objected to the characterisation, stating that Indian professionals in the US were highly educated, highly skilled and made significant contributions to the country's economic growth and innovation.

The ministry also noted that generations of immigrants had helped shape American history through their labour, investments and innovations, describing the use of terminology rooted in the colonial era as deeply offensive.