Kochar Info to invest Rs 6 cr in IT

By all reckoning, in the near future IT and IT-enabled services will no longer be restricted to big cities.

Amritsar-based Kochar Infotech Private Ltd, a data service support centre for Bharti and a subsidiary of the Kochar group, is set to expand and start operations in Delhi and Bangalore.

The company is investing Rs 6-7 crore over the next two years. Its plans include expanding the call centre capacity from 250 to 1,000 seats by the end of next year, building up a disaster-management site in Delhi, and catering for regional languages by setting up a call centre in Bangalore with an initial capacity of 50 seats.

The company is providing a full range of IT and management consultancy services including BPO services, IT strategic planning, business process engineering, and telecom solutions to firms like Airtel, H-P, and HFCL. The company is handling all the 22 circles of Bharti, starting with one circle.

In 1987, the Kochar group, which was in the business of woven woollen fabrics, diversified into IT by setting up Kochar Infotech Private Ltd. Since then, the company has experienced rapid growth.

Talking to Business Standard, CEO Jitender Jain said, "Call centres are a high-growth area, and setting up IT-enabled services is much easier than putting up an industrial unit. That's why we went for this greenfield project."

On IT and BPO services in smaller cities, he said, "In the near future, these services will not be restricted to big cities only. Bangalore has reached its peak, and that's why IT companies are moving to smaller cities."

Jain said, "In Punjab, IT and IT-enabled services are restricted to Mohali and Chandigarh, but smaller cities will see a boom because the availability and retention of manpower in the large cities is going to be a major problem along with the rising cost of living. In the smaller cities, though you have to invest a lot in training, it pays in the long run."

"Our plan includes getting into value-added services for the telecom sector. The focus will be on quality services, concentration on the R&D process, and product and process management."

The company is further planning to go into technology and financial services.