Jaipur moves on a fast lane in BPO sector growth

Proximity to BPO hubs along with improved infrastructure is luring investors

Going by the trends in metros, Jaipur is fast emerging as a BPO hub. Owing to improved infrastructure, good communications system, cheap land and building availability in state, several giants like Wipro, Infosys and Cisco have plans to invest in the state.

Owing mainly to rebates and concessions being offered by the state government, many companies have shown interest in setting up their base in the state, sources said.

It is understood that the state government is currently in talks with small and big IT players to enthuse them into IT enabled services (ITES), general software, and IT education.

To begin with, these investments are likely to be concentrated in Jaipur. Progeon has already announced its plan to set up base in Jaipur.

Several BPO companies like Go for Customer and Genpact are already in the city. With most BPOs active in finance-related sectors, companies like Genpact have been carrying out customer support and research related work for last three years, and at present have more than thousand employees.

Recently Genpact also invested a huge amount of Rs 75 crore for the construction of a new centre at the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, under its infrastructure expansion programme.

"The city's proximity to BPO hubs""New Delhi and Gurgaon ""along with its improved infrastructure and communication facilities are the main attractions luring BPO investors. Besides, the recent incidents of police attrocities on Honda employees have also turned investors to Jaipur" said an executive working in a local call centre here.

In a recent survey conducted by Nasscom-KPMG, it was found a higher rate of education, coupled with employee tendencies to serve an organisation for a longer stint, were the main reasons luring BPO investors to the state.

Reports also indicated that low-priced lands and buildings, and more importantly the state government's intentions to promote the region were helping the sector look up in the state. The Nasscom-KPMG survey has identified Kota as a more suitable place for such BPOsto be located.

Kota being a major centre of technical education in the country provides an easy access to low-priced availability of technical manpower.

Besides, Kota also has an IT park across seven acres of land equipped with all necessary facilities. But at the same time, call centre owners have been facing problems like frequent power cuts, sound problems in residential areas etc, and a lack of English-speaking graduates.