"We have categorically stated that the present offer is not mandatory. If any candidate does not want to take this up, he is then free not to join the BPO," a company spokesperson told Business Standard.

According to Wipro, those candidates who do not wish to join the BPO business immediately will also be given joining letter based on the business requirements at a later stage. "Our offer will be valid till they join us," said a spokesperson for the company.

Wipro had recently issued a total of 10,000 letters for both its IT and BPO businesses to the 2006-07 campus recruits, who have so far not joined the company, to join their BPO business to start with. The company had also stated that those IT candidates, who will be joining the BPO business, will be taken back to the IT business within 12-18 months of their joining, depending upon the business situation at that point of time.

This has, however, generated a lot of discontentment among the candidates, who were given offer letters to join the company's IT division. Over the weekend, hundreds of students in Kolkata had protested outside the Wipro office against the company's decision. On Monday they met the state IT minister, Debesh Das, to lodge their protest.

When contacted, Pradeep Bahirwani, vice-president (talent acquisition), Wipro, said in a statement that the candidates were asked to join the BPO business, owing to the logistical reasons of training and seating.

"A staggered hiring programme and timelines are also closely linked to our business. Due to the current business situation, we estimate delays in joining dates of some batches of recruits. We are providing them an option of a technical support role in our BPO division. The objective is to let engineering graduates commence work without delay," he stated.

For the 2006-07 batch, Wipro had given offer letters to about 10,000 candidates, who were selected through the campus recruitment. Of this, about 3,500 students have joined the company during the first two quarters, while the rest of the candidates are expected to be given joining letters over the course of the year. The campus recruits for IT, who have technical and professional degrees, were asked to join the BPO business in the technical support division with the same package that had been mentioned in the original offer letter.

Wipro has operations in Kolkata for both its IT services and BPO business, which together employs over 5,000 people.