CHENNAI, INDIA: NASSCOM, the premier trade body and 'voice' of the Indian IT-BPO industry, today kicked off its 5th annual NASSCOM HR Summit 2008 in Chennai. The inaugural session was attended by C Chandramouli, IT secretary, Tamil Nadu.

More than 600 delegates have registered for the event and over 40 speakers representing over 350 IT, BPO and other companies will address the gathering.

The discussions and deliberations will focus on how the workforce within the industry can be managed during this period of maturity, consolidation and change and how the HR function can play the role of a change catalyst. The panel discussions and speaker presentations will also analytically look at the critical need for HR to move beyond recruitment and attrition issues, and evolve within the organization with a more meaningful role for itself.

The speakers will share insights on how HR can help build skill sets in niche services, develop leadership competencies and expand the pool of talent in companies.

NASSCOM also released the detailed findings of the NASSCOM-A.T Kearney study on 'Location roadmap for IT- BPO growth: Assessment of 50 leading cities' on the five locations in Tamil Nadu, namely Coimbatore, Chennai, Salem, Trichy and Madurai. According to the report, Chennai is a Leader location; Coimbatore, Trichy and Madurai are Challenger locations, and Salem is a Follower.

Som Mittal, president, NASSCOM said, "We are delighted to present the fifth annual HR Summit and hope that discussions at this year's Summit will be as stimulating for the industry. The Indian IT- BPO sector has been a frontrunner of economic development in select cities, providing employment to a large number of people and improving the overall quality of life and amenities like education and healthcare in these cities. The growth projections of the industry indicate that even existing seven existing centres will see significant growth, however would need proactive planning and meticulous execution to support this growth."