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Lason will employ about 120 full timers in India to do the back-end processing of the adjudication claims for US health insurers.

Chennai , Nov. 14

LASON Inc, a US-based business process outsourcing company, plans to invest about $100 million in its India operations in five to 10 years.

The investment includes setting up a call centre in Chennai, strengthening information technology security within Lason, training employees and enhancing quality initiatives. The company will expand its presence in Indian smaller cities. Currently, it has offshore centres only in Chennai.

"We are committed to India, which is one of the fastest growing countries in terms of revenue for us," the company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ronald D. Risher, told newspersons here.

Lason reported turnover of about $170 million in 2002 and expects 8-10 per cent growth annually. Its Indian operation contributed revenues of about $30 million in 2002 with a 10-15 per cent annual growth. The company employed about 5,000 in India, 2,000 in the US and Canada, 500 in China and 400 in Mexico, he said.

Meanwhile, Lason's 100 per cent subsidiary, Vetri Software, has been renamed as Lason India. It is part of a global strategy to have a single Lason brand. Further, Mr Pradeep Nevatia, Country Head and Vice-President (Operations), Lason Inc, had been inducted into Lason India's board as its fourth member, he said.

Lason bought Vetri Software in January 1999 and had been investing annually about $10 million in the Indian subsidiary, he said.

The company's Senior Vice-President, Data Capture, Mr Suresh Yannamani, said Lason recently started doing claims adjudication for some of its US-based healthcare insurance firms. The company's clients include top insurance firms in the US, he said. According to Mr Yannamani, about 22 million claims were processed daily in the US (claims adjudication market is about $1 billion and less than one per cent of it is being outsourced). Lason will employ about 120 full timers in India to do the back-end processing of the adjudication claims. "We hope to do about 250 adjudication claims a day and expect $2.2 million to $3 million revenue from it next year. By outsourcing, clients save 30-45 per cent on operational cost," he said.

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