Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the election of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the U.S., calling it an inspiration for people everywhere, and sought to build ties with the next administration.

``Your extraordinary journey to the White House will inspire people not only in your country but also around the world,'' Singh said in his congratulatory message to the president-elect. ``Our two countries, working together to address global issues and challenges, will be an important factor for world peace, stability and progress.''

Singh is reaching out to Obama after President George W. Bush made ties with India one of the key elements of his foreign policy, pushing for the successful conclusion of a civilian nuclear energy agreement between the two nations.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, signed the agreement on Oct. 10, breaking India's three-decade nuclear isolation and allowing U.S. companies such as General Electric Co. to sell atomic fuel and technology to India's growing energy sector.

The agreement came after the U.S. helped India secure the right to buy equipment and fuel from the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group in September.

Still, Obama may be stricter on non-proliferation issues, said Ashok Behuria, research fellow at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, an independent policy research group. This may include ``barbs'' such as a ban on nuclear tests, Behuria said in a telephone interview from New Delhi.

`Warm Relationship'

``Still, I don't see any radical change in policy,'' Behuria said. ``Given the exceptionally warm relationship we had during Bill Clinton's presidency, I would imagine the Democrats would not like to rock the boat.''

Indian companies said they weren't concerned by the prospect of legislation to counter the contracting out of work by U.S. companies.

Obama's victory is ``positive'' for India's software industry, Ganesh Natarajan, chairman of India's National Association of Software and Service Companies, an industry lobby group, said in an e-mailed statement. The U.S. accounts for more than 60 percent of India's software revenue.

``There will be lots of new software applications, a lot of new services to be provided,'' Natarajan said. ``It is up to us to step up to the plate and make sure the services are transformational. So, all this worry about the outsourcing rhetoric, I think that isn't going to be his priority.''

`Pragmatic' on Outsourcing

Obama will be ``pragmatic'' on outsourcing, Wipro Ltd.'s T. K. Kurien, president of strategic programs at the third-largest software services provider in India, said in a telephone interview.

``Here's what it is. They will clearly have tax breaks for bringing and keeping jobs in the U.S.,'' Kurien said. `All of us have declared that we want to get closer to our customers and that we are going to make investments in the geography. That I think will only help. It can't be negative.''

India's Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram described Obama's win as transformational and a tribute to U.S. democracy.

``I am confident that U.S.-India relations will strengthen in the future,'' Chidambaram said. ``A comment here or a comment there on outsourcing should not bother us.''

Singh is to travel to the U.S. next week for G-20 meeting called by Bush on the global financial crisis.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2008 05:28 EST