Hit by an appreciating rupee, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms are going to lobby for subsidies and sops similar to those granted to goods exporters.
The Business Process Industry Association of India (BPIAI), a body representing the BPO industry, plans to approach the commerce ministry in the next few weeks with a proposal seeking aid for the industry.
BPO revenues have been hit by about 15 per cent due to rupee appreciation in the last 6-8 months, said BPIAI president Sam Chopra. “Goods exporters get shipment credit on easier terms from banks. The BPO industry should also get loans at softer interest rates and export subsidies equivalent to duty drawback for other exporters,” he added.
BPIAI, which was earlier known as the Call Centre Association of India, is also working on increasing its membership to become a true representative of the BPO industry. Though it has some big names under its umbrella, including Genpact, Hero ITeS, iGate and Bharti TeleTech, currently it has less than 40 members.
At its annual general meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday, the body decided to form eight committees to deal with specific issues like attrition, security and training. A committee will also be formed to evolve a no-poaching policy for the industry. “We’d definitely like a no-poaching policy and are currently looking at how it can be developed and implemented.
There would be a time period after which companies could recruit someone from another organisation,” said Mr Chopra. The association is also planning to build a registry of employees, much like Nasscom’s National Skills Registry.
Mr Chopra said BPIAI doesn’t plan to compete with Nasscom but would like to share its knowledge base with the apex software and services association. “In fact, we’re talking to Nasscom to jointly develop skills and training initiatives to meet the existing talent shortage,” he said.
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