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Anjali Prayag

BANGALORE, March 17

INDIA may be wearing the BPO crown, but it would be naive to think that the country will continue to rule the information technology industry for long, says Mr Sunit Mehra, Country Manager, Hunt Partners, a global search firm.

Cost advantage is what the Indian BPO industry is shouting from the rooftops, but if we don't watch out, the carpet may be pulled from right under our feet, he warns.

Talking about the narrowing gaps between pay packets in the US and India, he feels that this could be a major drawback to further investments in the BPO industry. "Today a call centre head or a country manager may command a compensation that ranges anywhere between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore per annum. This is slightly less than what a CEO in the US may get."

"Even call centre agents who were enthusiastic to join at Rs 8,000 - 10,000 per month are now demanding anywhere between Rs 18,000 and Rs 20,000 per month," he says, adding, "this is mainly because of the high rate of attrition in the industry."

Apart from Mexico, Brazil and some South-East Asian nations, India should watch out for Canada, he feels. The reasons are manifold: one, the salary levels could be almost or slightly higher than what the Indians are being paid. The second is the low telecom costs, absolutely no training costs and geographical advantage. When the operations are closer, it's a psychological assurance that things are under control." And being in the same time zone may not be such a hindrance after all, he feels.

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