Spreading into rural India

Submitted by _Steve L on June 29, 2005 - 10:41.
June 29, 2005 - 10:00, Business Standard
Spreading into rural India, by Nelson Vinod Moses


BPOs are moving to villages


Kizhanur is like any other village in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallur district, surrounded by paddy fields and grazing cows. But look closely at No:1 Sivan Koil street which is awash with a new phenomenon – a business process outsourcing (BPO) version of ITC’s e-choupal.

Chida Soft is a village BPO, doing coding on legal paper for an US client. It is run by entrepreneur Sharmila , 25, who supervises the Kizhanur franchisee of Lason India, part of the $170 million Lason Inc, US, an end-to-end outsourcing company that has a presence in the healthcare and publishing industries. Sharmila has provided the real estate, while Lason has invested in the hardware and training.

The result? One of India’s first BPOs in a village that is run by a resident and employs locals. “Other than IT infrastructure, a BPO does not require good roads or houses. All it needs is abundant people,” explains Pradeep Nevatia, managing director, Lason.

The initiative termed ‘Lason Village BPO’ is to be extended to five more locations in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka by the end of 2005.
Story found here.
Submitted by Anonymous on July 1, 2005 - 06:06.
india's growth should not be restricted to the cities, since most of India lives in her villages, this is a good step to even out the differences.
Submitted by _Paleth on July 2, 2005 - 01:07.
The key to rural India's growth is going to be the company or institution that bets on building up a content package for vocational training in new economy technologies. India's VT infrastructure is not bad (purely in a relative sense) when it comes to welding, fabrication and other industrial training. But the sector teaching software, BPO and other new economy skills is pathetic. Telecommunications will play a vital role, no doubt, but it's the training that will really make the difference. Knowledge VTIs? Rajesh

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