India not yet a desirable 'data destination'

NEW DELHI: Speaking at a seminar on BPO laws, legal expert Pavan Duggal said that even though the country is doing great in terms of attracting BPO operations from all over the globe, still it is not a desirable 'data destination' for big IT players.

"There is a growing concern among big IT players about their data not being that secure in a country which doesn't have proper data protection laws. We will have to make our country a favorable data destination in the near future and it is only possible if we have industry friendly legal framework in place," Duggal said.

Government of India, ministry of technology secretary, KK Jaiswal stated that the government had initiated various measures and is actively looking at furthering the scope for more companies who would like to outsource their back office operations in India. He further pointed out that the government's intention is to provide all the possible help, systems and an enabling environment for inducing the further growth of what was generically named as BPO industry.

Releasing the book 'Laws of Business Process Outsourcing' by Duggal, Nasscom president, Kiran Karnik said that the outsourcing industry holds great promise for the entire Indian economy and it is going to be the driver for further growth in India.

Karnik highlighted the importance of laws impacting the entire process of business outsourcing, and was emphatic that the law needs a framework in order to provide a solid foundation for most of the BPO work that is here and the volumes that are yet to come in.

The book, written by Duggal is aimed to serve as a reference to those involved with the area of BPO. Aspects covered in the book include the legal essentials for a BPO contract, service level agreements, data protection and certain issues of privacy in the context of BPO operations.