Very true Ravi. Our bank (in the UK) used Indian companies a lot. The architect was nearly always a UK bank employee, even if the rest of the development team was in India.

As a general point you should be aware of the distinction between "Software Architecture" and "being a Software Architect". Many books on Software Architecture are technical works that detail how to design an application/system. They are about software design rather than "being an architect". They are firmly in the technical sphere. Transitioning from Technical Lead to the role of Software Architect is about adding soft-skills to all those good technical design skills you know. For example, learning how to present your design to a room of business colleagues without them all glazing over and falling asleep will be critical to your success. If you can't do that then it doesn't matter how good your technical design skills are. This is what really distinguishes an architect from a technical lead who is good at software design. As an architect your role is now business-facing, it isn't just technical any more.

I transitioned from a developer to an architect while working in a large retail bank. Being a software architect (rather than just a technical lead) is about getting to know your business users, those people who pay for and use you software. Spend as much time as you can meeting and talking to people who are not techies. Get to know how your business works, who makes the decisions and who controls the budgets. Start hanging out with them, find excuses to go and ask questions and get involved in business meetings. Eventually those people will start coming to you as their first port of call when considering new projects. Once this happens you will be well on your way to becoming an architect. Your job as a software architect is to translate the business vision into a blueprint that the tech leads can then implement. An architect is not a super-skilled technical lead. As a software architect you will eventually stop doing any hands-on development at all. You act as a bridge between the business and the development team. Does this sound attractive to you? Most developers can't do this, they can't let go of the code. There are plenty of architecture courses to go on and plenty of books to read, but it is the personal relationships that you develop outside your coding environment that will make all the difference. Good luck!