Xchanging to build low-carbon BPO unit in Shimoga

BANGALORE,INDIA: Britain's Xchanging Plc has signed an agreement with the Government of Karnataka to lease and jointly develop six acres of land in a new SEZ that is being developed in Shimoga — a tier 3 town north-west of Bangalore.

Under this, Xchanging will build a state-of-the-art business processing center, that will initially support a capacity of of 1,000 people and could scale up to to a 2,000-seat center.

Speaking on the Shimoga project, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, “My government is keen to lay the foundations of an enhanced relationship between Britain and India for the decades to come, and Xchanging has demonstrated here in India what can be achieved by British companies when successfully opening up new markets around the world.”

The new low-carbon BPO unit in Shimoga will be its fourth major processing center in India. Xchanging employs over 3,400 people in India and has three of its top ten global processing hubs in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Chennai.

The company set foot in India in the year 2003 and has since then significantly expanded its operations in the country. In 2008 Xchanging announced the acquisition of Cambridge Solutions Limited, listed on the Indian stock exchanges.

Chief Minister of Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa said the entry of a multinational in Shimoga is an indication of the potential of tier 2 and tier 3 cities of Karnataka. “Xchanging’s association in joint development of the SEZ IT Park at Shimoga would usher in IT penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities,” he said.