Calcutta, Dec. 12: The Confederation of Indian Industry has coined the slogan ‘Serve from India’ to aggressively promote Indian IT-enabled services sector as a brand in the global arena.
At the IT-enabled services seminar here today, CII president Ashok Soota said, “We have coined the term and will apply for a copyright on the same. It is our ambition that whenever someone thinks of remote services, they should think of India.” The Indian ITeS industry is expected to achieve $ 17 billion by 2008, which is around 3.5 per cent of the global revenues estimated at $ 500 billion.
The need of the hour is, however, to focus on ramping up infrastructure to provide world-class operations and efficient disaster recovery plans. Adherence to international norms and training for greater empathy towards customers are also important aspects.
The West Bengal government is also actively pursuing companies to set up facilities in Calcutta. Soota said that though the state was a late entrant, it was necessary to develop specialised skills to attract investments. “The state should develop strong domain expertise in one field. There should also be rapid movement up the value chain.”
It has been suggested that the government outsource some of its processes to local companies in an effort to provide a boost for the entrepreneurs. “There is also an urgent need to focus on venture capital funding,” added Soota. CII officials confirmed that it would lead a delegation comprising IT-enabled services companies and government officials to Europe and the US to interact with potential clients.
VVR Babu, chief information officer of ITC and part of the CII team, said: “The delegation will provide a platform for companies to interact with potential overseas clients. The inherent advantages of talent and lower costs can translate into the region becoming an IT-enabled services hub, provided some infrastructure and perception issues are addressed urgently.”
The US is expected to outsource nearly $ 25 billion worth IT-enabled services activity by 2002-end. The industry, which employs an estimated 1.25 lakh people, generated revenues worth $ 1.5 billion in 2001-02 and CAGR of around 38 per cent.
ITC Infotech target
ITC Infotech plans to achieve revenues worth Rs 250 crore within the next three years. The company has announced its joint venture with US-based Client Logic for business process outsourcing assignments. Managing director Sanjeev Varma said that the company has already commenced operations in Bangalore. After this it would consider setting up a second centre in Calcutta, he added.
