Don't treat BPO like IT: Bhasin

BANGALORE: BPO is an industry in its own right, giving employment to not only a wide number of people but also a wider range of jobs.

Why treat a five to seven-year young industry the way a 20-year old IT industry is treated? "It's relatively a nascent industry and needs nurturing." These were some of the musings of Pramod Bhasin, chairperson, Nasscom ITES-BPO forum and president, CEO of Genpact where he and his peers outlined the major challenges faced by the industry presently.

Speaking at the Nassom ITES-BPO Strategy Summit 2007 in Bangalore today Bhasin emphatically pointed out that BPO at times is swallowed under the IT shadow as he uncorked the SEZ issue again. "BPO work is a reality TV scenario which can not be done in a remote SEZ. Some big players like us would be able to invest mammoth capital in own SEZs but what about the smaller players? The industry, which one day, will be India's largest private sector player needs nurturing."

Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom too underlined the need for extension of STPI tax benefits for the industry. "It's a tough battle again but we are taking up some of these issues strongly with the government. For instance, Rupee appreciation is not just an issue about the industry's bottomlines but about its competitiveness. The industry can not take it easily." He added that Nasscom is working hard in a government dialogue on combating the exchange rate challenge.

"While some quarters in the government admit the gravity and the need for some kind of intervention, some still feel the exchange rate dilemma as right, inevitable and a means of inflation control," we are however working on gaining government intervention, he iterated. Incidentally, the ITES-BPO industry this year clocked dollar eight billion in exports and has a milestone of $10 billion this year.

Bhasin also delved on the need of creating robust standards within the industry for security, HR, IP and lauded initiatives like NAC (National Assesment Certification) and NSR (National Skills Registry) by Nasscom in this direction.

Ganesh Natarajan, vice chairman, Nasscom and MD, Zensar Technologies talked about the significance of ecosystems like the Auto cluster (Pune) and Telco cluster (Chennai) for the industry. "BPO is now Business Process Optimisation and moving up the value chain is an imperative," he stressed. 

Among other issues, attrition and talent supply were some recurring problems touched upon at the inaugural session and the need of PPPs (Public Private Partnerships) and Academia alliances came up as tested-and-tried methods. As Karnik tagged it well, "BPO not only gives employment, it gives hope."

The two-day annual summit will cover many subjects enveloping the industry with a variety of speakers and delegates from various domains, companies and countries attending the conclave.

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