The Hindu Business Line : Caught in cross-talk

The remark last week by Mr Samir Chopra, a former President of the Business Process Industry Association of India (BPIAI) — that BPO companies may see 2.5 lakh job losses by the first quarter of 2009 — has left the BPO industry red in the face.

In what appears to be a massive damage control exercise, the apex IT association Nasscom swung into action, distancing itself from such extreme prophecies by a rival industry body. “Nasscom’s research and interaction with its member companies is not in support of this statement. Our detailed industry performance and forecast for FY09 will be released in the next fortnight. However, on employment the industry will continue to be a net hirer in FY09 as a direct corollary of industry growth, and fears of large-scale job losses are unfounded,” Nasscom said.

The underlying message? The BPO industry will continue to grow in 2009 and will be a net hirer across its various lines of business. And Nasscom is not the only one rushing to soothe nervous sentiment in the BPO sector. According to Mr Deepak Ohlyan, the newly-elected President of BPIAI, the sector has no plans for job cuts. In fact “BPOs require more people to scale up their operations from multiple locations and to meet the delivery requirements of new business coming in.”

Mr Chopra could not be reached for comments. Queries to a senior BPIAI office bearer on the last week’s headline-grabbing statement met with a terse response. “Those were not the industry’s views,” the official said.

Fear is the key

There are many people who regard the electronic media as a form of terrorism. Politicians are a special sub-set of this group. After all, both during and after the attack on Mumbai, they have come in for some scathing criticism. But much as they’d like to, they can’t find the courage to take the battle to the electronic media camp.

So, even the ever sharp Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, during a press conference, was quick to remind himself about virtues of keeping off the electronic media. He started to talk about the media’s role during the terror attack on Mumbai but quickly checked himself, saying ‘we will talk about that later’.

But his exact feelings on the issue came out when a reporter asked if he thought India should attack Pakistan. “Aapko bulaaengey,” said Laluji. “Jab ladne ka zaroorat hoga toh aap ko bulaengey” (We will call you when the time for fighting comes).

Bansal’s view

On a question about the rapid increase in India’s external and internal debt, Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of State for Finance said that the Indian economy was in a “comfortable situation” despite the global financial meltdown. “There is no reason to worry. The position is comfortable. We have weathered the storm.”

A few hours later came the news that industrial output had not grown at all for the first time in 15 years.

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