Contrary to apprehensions expressed by trade unions, British companies which outsourced to India have gained much and have become globally competitive, a study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, has indicated.

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"British companies which would have otherwise become dysfunctional in terms of pricing of their products have become viable and become competitive," Dr Amit Mitra, secretary general of Ficci, said on Thursday.

Citing an example, he said the BT, which was among the first to utilise the call centres in India, had become viable and saved thousands of jobs.

Similarly, General Electrics, which houses 3,000 call centre workers in a building in Bangalore, had also benefited much.

Dr Mitra said the study was being coordinated by Manoja Ladwa, head of Ficci's operations in the United Kingdom.

He said contrary to the popular perception, working conditions at call centres in India were far better than those prevailing even in developed countries.

Dr Mitra, who had a meeting with several British MPs on Wednesday, said the Ficci study would be made available to members of the British Parliament and trade unions.

According to him there was great scope and tremendous potential for increasing the two-way trade and investment.

"This year India's investment in the UK was higher than the UK investment in India," he pointed out.