Date:14/10/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/10/14/stories/2004101400590500.htm

Back `BPO market hotting up with 8 more nations in fray'

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Oct. 13

INDIA'S dominance in the global BPO market might be short-lived as almost eight nations including China, Mexico and South Africa are seriously eyeing a chunk of the market share and upgrading their technical skills for the same, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

Releasing the analysis here on Tuesday, the Assocham President, Mr Mahendra K. Sanghi, said that the aforesaid nations would pose a realistic threat to India's dominance in the BPO industry in the long run on account of certain advantages that they enjoy over India.

The constant growth of China on the infrastructure front and rising economic affluence has made it a good destination for non-voice processes, pointed out Mr Sanghi.

"This will be the area in which competition will intensify between India and China in the next 5-6 years. Moreover, due to widespread curriculum changes that have made English language mandatory at the school to college levels, China may be able to match India's edge of large English speaking, lost-cost manpower in the next 15-20 years", the Assocham analysis concluded.

Similarly, Mexico and Canada have an edge over India in terms of their proximity to the US, he noted.

The Chamber, therefore, has suggested that India needs to adopt a medium-long term sustainable strategy to continuously innovate and add value to processes and provide an end-to-end solution to global clients.