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India is the second highest populated country of the world. Surprisingly it has taken many years for us to recognize that this is not a curse but a blessing in disguise.
In the early years of independence, the resources to satisfy the basic needs of such high population were a matter of concern. Besides this, a consistent rise in the population was an additional dilemma. There was deficiency of almost everything including basic necessities like food grains, medicines etc.
Slowly and steadily, due to development in different spheres, this difficult era came to an end and an independent economy called India emerged. In the contemporary scenario, if seen from a positive perspective, a large population can be considered as an asset for the country. Now nations across the globe recognize the human resource of India as a capable workforce. According to a renowned demographer, by 2020 India would have the largest workforce in the world and would possess a working population of nearly 820 million.
The major issue that needs to be resolved is that the number of work opportunities would be far less than the surplus workforce within our territorial limits. If we have a look at similar figures of other countries like U.S, Japan etc. they would be facing problem of shortage of workforce. For example for proper execution of commercial and economic activities, U.S. would face a shortage of more than 15 million workers and similarly Russia would face a shortage of more than 5 million workers. India is the only country, which possesses a high surplus of people who are capable of working. So the surplus workforce existing in India would naturally descend towards developed countries like U.S. and Russia.
Export of diverse products to different countries is a concept known to India for long. From the very beginning, India had a surplus workforce but less work opportunities. In the early years, India was just exporting unskilled labor for plantation purposes to smaller countries like Sri Lanka that have shortage of workforce. The foremost difference which is noticeable after a few years is that India has now started exporting skilled workforce.
The new era brought with itself a demand for specialized and skilled professionals like doctors, engineers, lawyers, architects, teachers, scientists etc. These people received their education and training in India and were sent to the demanding countries like U.K and U.S.
In the present world also India is exporting its workforce to different countries but with a difference. A new trend which has emerged shows people of India working for enterprises established outside the territorial boundaries of India, but by staying here only. This is called Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
Big cities like Banglore, Pune, Mumbai etc, which have adopted BPO in the very nascent stages, have become much more prosperous as compared to other cities of the country. BPO has seen exponential growth but a number of significant internal and external challenges have arisen which are aiming at constricting its growth.
BPO industry has to spend a lot on the training of its employees and apart from this a fear of hiring the wrong people also keeps lurking. NASSCOM is heading towards a national registry of employees that can be used by the employer to run a check on the persons to be placed at crucial positions in the outsourcing chain.
Almost all call centers in the country offer employment to young persons who are in their early twenties. They are not mentally mature and making quick money is the only goal they wish to attain. Hence they can be easily lured by showing a rosy picture of prospective monetary gains. To inculcate a sense of job responsibility in such employees is also a big challenge for the business outsourcing corporations.
IT and ITES are playing an important part in the development of the economy. Formulation and propagation of specific data protection laws for BPO workspace has become need of the hour. Meanwhile, a number of BPO companies have also acquired various data security certifications. This is done with a primary aim of inculcating assurance in clients across the world, as information and data security is and would always be a dominating topic in ITES world. Expansion of Indian legal framework is a clause, on which growth of BPO industry depends.
Earlier businessmen engaged in BPO industry obtained business at exhilarating prices. But now after a few years, the competition in the internal market has increased. Besides this, prices have also taken a downward jump due to competition from other service providers like Sri Lanka and China. The cost of providing services has also spiraled upwards. The profit margins have decreased due to considerable difference in the salaries of the employees of present and past.
In the present situation, young boys and girls in the country are opting for jobs in the outsourcing sector to satisfy their urge to earn quick money. In this field, inadequate educational qualification is not considered as a hindrance to acquire a job. Moreover youngsters working in the BPO sector enjoy a prosperous and self-earned lifestyle. They enjoy freedom in every sphere of life at a very tender and young age and it is being noticed that many of them even drop out their studies in lure of easy money. These trends have notoriously earmarked a discernable position for BPO in the Indian society, as a new sub-culture by itself.
By Monu Kumar
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