BPO sector seeks policy initiatives

The domestic BPO industry is in talks with the government for policy level action in the areas of education and infrastructure that will help the burgeoning industry grow at a faster pace.

Unlike the governments in countries like China, Philipinnes, Sri Lanka, Malaysia etc, the Indian government is yet to take a leadership role in the development of what is India's fastest growing industry.

Industry players are asking the government to help the largely manpower intensive industry by starting college-level courses aimed at preparing individuals for a career in the BPO industry.

"Earlier it would take us 4-6 weeks to get a person ready for the job but now it takes us anything between 8-10 weeks. This is because of the quality of people available," said Raman Roy, chairman and managing director of Wipro Spectramind.

S Nagarajan, founder and COO, 24/7 Customer, agreed with Roy and added" When the IT industry was at its peak, the industry got together with the University Grants Commission (UGC) to start courses like MCA, BCA, BSc computer science etc. We need something like that for the BPO industry now especially in the fields of F&A, insurance etc."

BPO industry players also emphasised the need for data protection laws in the country.