Nasscom unveils BPO database

In order to strengthen the security apparatus in the Business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, industry association Nasscom today launched a national database of IT professionals""the National Skills Repository (NSR).

The repository, which was inaugurated by the minister of communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran, is a centralised database, containing the educational and professional background of the employees in the BPO industry.

Five companies including TCS, CMC, GEnpact, Satyam and Mphasis have signed up for the database. "Companies which sign up for the NSR will have details of all their existing employees," Nasscom President Kiran Karnik said.

The NSR, launched in collaboration with the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), has been designed to ensure the authenticity of data through independent verification of the individual and biometric identification of the individual.

The repository, which is purely voluntary for both employees and the companies, will have seven agencies doing background checks including KPMG and Advantage Quest.

It will contain fingerprints of the all employees, their background checks and act as a safeguard for any data security threats.

'The fingerprints of the employees and their educational background will ensure that no data is stolen or any security is compromised,' added Karnik.

The database, will not be made public to anyone without the consent of the employee. Companies will have to spend Rs 300 per employee for the background check and an additional Rs 1500 for verification by the independent agencies.

Further, the access of companies would also be restricted to only the particular employee whose background check it wants to do and not the entire database.