Karnik sings `Don't Worry' to BPOs

NEW DELHI: India's booming backoffice industry does not face any threat from a decision by some global firms to move their business out of the country due to user complaints, a top software body official assured.

Over the past few years, India has blossomed into the backoffice hub of the world as global firms such as General Electric and American Express Co have set up huge units attracted by its low wages and English-speaking workforce.

But recently a few firms such as Dell Inc. have stopped routing some calls to centers in India's $2.3 billion industry following complaints from customers.

"It's a small matter and not a generalised industry problem," Kiran Karnik, president of the Nasscom, informed on the sidelines of an industry seminar.

Karnik said the move was an aberration and possibly a part of the learning curve for both overseas and Indian companies, who together employ about 170,000 workers.

The exodus of jobs from mostly western nations has already produced a political backlash with some U.S. states considering laws that would restrict their governments from doing business with firms that move jobs abroad.

Karnik said Indian backoffice services providers needed to focus more attention on improving quality to meet the sector's target of 54 percent growth in revenue in the year to March 2004.

Global investment bank Lehman Brothers is also examining whether it should continue outsourcing its IT helpdesk to Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest software services exporter.

"We have 26 people working for Lehman in the IT helpdesk project and are now taking a pause to see whether this work should continue or not. In any situation, some projects succeed while others don't," Girish Paranjpe, president for financial services at Wipro's global software unit, told Reuters.

"If we look back, this particular incident might have happened due to a combination of factors from either side, such as the need for more training and a better assessment of risks."

Apart from the helpdesk project, Wipro is doing some 50 software assignments for Lehman, Paranjpe said.

© Reuters