CHENNAI: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom)
on Thursday presented a 10-point call for action to the government and industry
to help India emerge as a sustainable hub for IT enabled services. A panel of
international and Indian experts drafted the action plan based on discussions
and debates over the two-day Nasscom IT Enabled Services 2001 conference held in
Chennai that concluded today. Nasscom will present the action plan to the IT and
Telecom Ministry in New Delhi next month.
The conference received record participation with over 800 delegates
registering for the event. Notably, over 40% of the participating delegates had
come from all over the country, giving it a truly national flavor. Encouraged by
the response, the industrial body has decided to conduct similar events in
Chennai, focusing on different aspects of the IT sector.
"The IT Enabled sector has recorded its highest ever growth of 70%.
Nasscom projections further indicate that it has the potential to emerge as the
much required catalyst to boost the growth of the Indian IT industry," said
Arun Seth (chairman program committee) of IT enabled services sector.
The sector has already caught the attention of the international and domestic
investment community as reflected by the $300 million that was invested. We are
confident that this inflow will eventually reach $500 million in the next 12
months, he said.
Some of the measures presented in the Call for Action are:
1. Commencement of immediate dialogue between the government and the industry
to clearly define the parameters for each segment of the IT enabled services
sector. This will remove ambiguity with regard to income tax exemption
applicable to the ITES units
2. Applicability of international standards in telecom infrastructure
including:
* Inter- connectivity of international call centers.
* Setting up of international gateways for captive need in IT enabled
services.
* Permit for IT enabled industry to freely purchase bandwidth from
international markets.
* Services like toll free numbers to encourage domestic call center
activities.
3. Setting up of a single window clearance for IT enabled services industry
4. Support from local authorities and state governments to ensure ease of
operations and start up assistance for IT enabled services units.
5. Flexibility to call centers to merge domestic and international business
in the same facility
6. Setting up of IT enabled service training infrastructure and involvement
of ITIs and polytechnics for call center management and degree level courses for
IT enabled services industry
7. Initiation of 'One' industry standard for Indian IT enabled services
industry as a tool, to certify quality and global standards
8. Creation of an 'India Brand' marketing fund by the government and
industry, for promoting India as a preferred destination for the IT enabled
services sector
9. Establishment of a $100 million VC fund for the IT enabled services sector
10. Special incentives to promote entrepreneurs and tele-working for women in
the IT enabled sector.
Reflecting on the progress made at the conference, Arun Seth said, "The
discussions over the past two days has made it clear that we need to start
looking at this industry as a profession, rather than a part time activity. To
build India into a globally competitive and sustainable destination for IT
enabled services, the industry and the government will have to work together to
overcome the challenges in areas like standards, infrastructure, quality and
human resources."
As a first step, we will work with the government and educational institutes
to introduce structured courses and certifications for employees in this sector.
Enabled with the requisite skill sets, this would help ensure that India
achieves its projected target of generating 1 million jobs by 2008 in the IT
enabled sector, he said. Commenting on the Call for Action Agenda, he said,
"Nasscom has recently constituted a Call Center Forum to give direction and
boost this segment."