The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Rise in rupee value may cut BPO jobs’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 29, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Rise in rupee value may cut BPO jobs’

Special Correspondent

China has been able to keep its currency appreciation value under control

BANGALORE: A leading IT professional on Wednesday cautioned that job cuts in the BPO (business process outsourcing) may begin if there is further appreciation in the rupee value.

Participating at the inauguration of the 42nd annual convention of Computer Society of India in Bangalore, chairman and managing director of Mind Tree Consulting, C. Ashok Soota, said: “you have been hearing about loss of jobs in some sectors. There are indications that similar job cuts might take place in the BPO sector also if there is further appreciation in the rupee value.”

However, he made it clear that the rupee value appreciation would not affect the survival of the IT sector. But nevertheless, it would be a big challenge for the sector.

He observed that China was able to keep its currency appreciation value under control despite having a higher growth rate than India’s. Similarly, Japan had to face recession due to the higher currency value. Japan was recently recovering from the recession, he said hinting that it was going to be tough if there was further appreciation in the rupee value.

Highlighting the importance of IT and BPO sector in terms of employment, he said it had emerged as the biggest private sector employer as it had provided direct employment to nearly 1.6 million people. Besides, one direct employment in the sector was creating four indirect jobs in other fields, he said and noted that it was wrong to think that IT sector had benefited only the rich and upper middle class.

Mr. Soota also stressed the need for taking the benefits of IT to the nook and corner of the country by spreading e-learning. He noted that it was possible to speed up the judicial machinery and also bring about transparency if India’s legal system adopted IT tools.

About 300 delegates are participating in the four-day convention with a theme: “GenNext India – Harnessing the power of IT.” As many as 50 speakers are delivering addresses on various issues.

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