BPOs make a mark in former Naxal land

The business process outsourcing (BPO) initiative of the district administration has attracted companies like All State Insurance (ASI), EDS and Adventity to get their outsourcing jobs done from the local villages.

Fostera (Fostering Technologies in Rural Areas), the brainchild of Krishnagiri district collector Santhosh Babu, is a rural BPO-cum-call-centre providing employment to nearly 200 youth, mostly from the below-the-poverty-line families.

The district administration has set up four centres in three villages including Sanasandiran, Allapatti, and Metipalli. The fourth is likely to come up at Denkanikota.

The Azhaippy Maiyam or the rural BPO has transformed the youth. "I was quite sceptical initially, and was not sure if the youth will be able to speak English, let alone acquire a western accent. We want to see just how much more our boys and girls are capable of," said Babu.

Most of the people who are working in Fostera are men and women in the age group of 18 to 25