Rupee has risen about nine per cent against the US dollar since January 1 this year. "The industry cannot take it, it is not good for the future growth of the industry", Nasscom President Kiran Karnik said, while referring to the huge appreciation in the rupee over the last few months.
Speaking during the inaugural session of Nasscom India ITES-BPO strategy summit 2007, he said efforts were on to engage the government on the issue.
"But it has not been easy to get the government to see their (IT exporters) point of view," he said, adding that while some understood the implications, others did not see the process as one that was "inevitable" and as a strategy to control inflation.
Nasscom was pushing for extension of the Software Technology Parks of India scheme to partially offset the impact of the rise in rupee. STPIs provide infrastructure and statutory support to IT exporters.
Outlining the challenges before the industry he said: "Moving up the value chain and broadening base were among those that were in the forefront in addition to finding, recruiting and retaining the workforce in the industry."
"The supply pipe line needs to be increased", he said, adding that the industry employed 500,000 people last year and it expected to hire over 150,000 in exports and 200,000 in IT, ITES sector.
Nasscom has been working to augment the talent pool by coordinating with universities and government to ensure better skill empowerment among new graduates who could be absorbed by the industry, Karnik said.
In the last two years, the industry had seen good growth by crossing the eight billion dollar mark in exports and its target is to touch the 10 billion dollar mark this year, he said.
Nasscom chairperson (ITES-BPO forum) Pramod Bhasin said it was imperative that the BPO industry did not get swallowed by the IT industry.
The BPO industry was barely five to seven years old, as against 20-year old IT industry. With the BPO sector poised to become one of the biggest private sector in terms of employment opportunities, he said there was a need to "nurture" this sector.
Bhasin said more than SEZs, the BPO industry needs the reachability. Customers did not want a remotely SEZ located BPOs and in this, extension of STPI would help, he added. BPOs in Tier-I and II cities have changed the entire face of the city as well as employment opportunities and hence this sector needed to be encouraged, he said.
