Aegis commences BPO business in Kashmir Valley
Thus far, the Kashmir Valley was one of the most strife-torn regions of India. Let alone setting up businesses, even tourists were reluctant to visit the region – popularly known as the Switzerland of India, owing to intense militancy in the Valley. However, things seem to be changing and this is evident from the fact that recently a leading Indian BPO firm Aegis has commenced it BPO business in the region. This is also significant considering the rapid growth of the IT industries in the country and the increasing number of clients outsourcing their work to India.
The BPO center launched by Aegis, a firm owned by the Essar group, is based at the Rangrate IT Park close to the state capital Srinagar and presently employs 200 agents from the region. According to Aegis president, Sudhir Agarwal, the newly set up BPO center is equipped with the most modern technology and provides top-notch services that are comparable to any other BPO hub worldwide. The center at Srinagar will have a total workforce of 2,000 when completely operational. The company specializes in customer service and back-office operations.
The Aegis president informed that the Srinagar center has already entered into a deal with Vodafone and initially, will primarily focus on servicing domestic clients. Presently, work is on to enhance the capacity of the state-of-the-art BPO center from 200 seats to 500 seats. The centre is established on a sprawling area of 22,000 sq ft and aims at providing employment to the militancy-hit state. In fact, the company management has already urged people from the state working in BPO centers elsewhere to join the Srinagar hub. Agarwal said that before their induction, the local youths are being extensively trained for the job for about a month.
According to industry experts, the launch of the Aegis call center and BPO hub in Srinagar heralds a new chapter of progress not only in the militancy-hit state of India, but also for the Indian IT and ITeS industry.
Tags: Aegis, Indian IT/ITeS industry, Kashmir, Outsourcing to India