The Hindu Business Line : India set to become knowledge process outsourcing hub: CII

INDIA is all set to emerge as a knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) destination, with a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) study saying that KPO would grow at 46 per cent to become $17 billion sector by 2010.

Besides, the study points that the growth of services sector would be over 8 per cent and its contribution to India's GDP would be over 51 per cent. Areas with significant potential for KPO include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and ICT, besides legal support, intellectual property research and design and development for automotive and aerospace industries, CII stated.

India stands to gain from its inherent strengths in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech and ICT sectors, it added.

The paper states that by 2012, the healthcare sector could account for 7-8 per cent of GDP and provide direct and indirect employment to around 9 million people.

India spends $22.7 billion on healthcare and this is the largest service industry in terms of revenue and the second largest after education in terms of employment.

Asserting that India could be an emerging healthcare hub, the paper states "India has the opportunity to provide the best of the western and eastern healthcare systems."

With Indian systems of medicine "staging a comeback," doctors in the West are increasingly prescribing Indian systems of medicine.

The paper has observed that more than 70 per cent of the American population prefer a natural approach to health, and spend around $25 billion on non-traditional medical therapies and products, thus making India one of their most preferred destinations because of ayurveda, yoga and siddha.

Moreover, India has a proven healthcare system with over 60,000 cardiac surgeries done per year that matches international standards. Multi-organ transplants such as renal, liver, heart, bone marrow transplants are successfully performed at one-tenth the cost, and patients from over 55 countries come to India for treatment.

With India possessing cost advantage over many countries, the healthcare sector also offers a huge potential for investments over the next 10 years. The CII paper states that the sector would require around $22 billion- $31 billion in the next 10 years.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry too has achieved self-sufficiency and global recognition as a low-cost producer of high-quality bulk drugs and formulations.

Indian companies now offer custom synthesis services at 30 per cent to 50per cent cost savings compared to global costs.

The country's biotechnology sector is expected to earn $5 billion annual revenue by 2010.

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