The Hindu Business Line : HR services growing at 20 pc per annum, says Ma Foi chief

HUMAN resources services will provide a boost to India's economy , like oil and gas did to Gulf economies, and the sector is growing at a healthy rate of 20 per cent per annum, Mr K. Pandia Rajan, the CEO of Ma Foi, the Chennai-based consultancy firm, has said.

At a press meet here on Monday evening, he said the BPO wave would continue in spite of some hiccups and HR would account for roughly 10 per cent of the BPO. "It means roughly 2.36 lakh jobs a year and it will continue to grow in future," he said.

The Executive Recruiters' Association, of which Mr Pandia Rajan is a founder-member, estimated a turnover of Rs 435 crore in the HR segment. He said that while half of the business was being done by established firms such as Ma Foi, the rest was being grabbed by `one-man army' organisations which numbered 1,200.

Then, there were 1,400 travel agent-recruiters. "There will be many mergers in the future and a great deal of consolidation is on the cards," he said.

He felt that regulating HR services would be a lot easier after the setting up of the proposed Manpower Export Promotion Council and the passing of the Bill amending the Immigration Act of 2003, at present before Parliament.

Referring to his company, Mr Pandia Rajan said Ma Foi (which in French meant "I give my word") had been set up in August 1992 in Chennai with an investment of Rs 60,000. It has at present 35 branches in 32 cities and towns in the country besides five overseas branches.

"Our turnover during 2003-2004 was Rs 84.56 crore, up from Rs 48.66 crore the previous year, and we recruit 2,000 persons every month.

Last month, Vedior NV of Holland had acquired 76 per cent of Ma Foi's stake and the company was set for a bigger leap, he said. It would take care of Vedior's Asia operations.

"We are concentrating on healthcare, IT, IT-enabled services, BPO and technical writing for publishing houses," he said.

Ma Foi did not collect any fees from the job-seekers, but would get its revenue from the companies, he said.

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