New Delhi: Atleast 50 cities, apart from the existing top seven metros, in India can be developed as future hubs for IT and BPO operations, a comprehensive joint survey report of Nasscom and AT Kearney said.

The report sketches details of opportunities available in these cities for attracting investment from this sector with a deeper objective of showcasing a roadmap to achieve uniform economic development in India.

Releasing the findings of the report on Wednesday titled "Roadmap ‘Location Roadmap For IT-BPO Growth: Assessment of 50 Leading Cities", the Nasscom Chairman Ganesh Natrajan said this report would serve as a planning input for state governments, educational institutions, policy makers and local industry bodies when they look at means to attract investment into their regions.

He further said that the Indian IT-BPO sector has been a frontrunner of economic development in select cities, providing employment to a large number of people and improving the overall quality of life and amenities like education and healthcare in these cities.

"We now see the time as being right to spread this development to a new set of locations, provided the requirements of the Industry can be met," the Nasscom Chairman said.

Speaking about the rationale of the report, the Nasscom President Som Mittal said that the development of only a few select set of cities has put severe pressure on the infrastructure and costs besides increase in migration of resources.

He further said that this report will provide useful information on relative attractiveness to companies who are looking to enter or expand.

Mittal said that the dispersion of IT centres will lead to balanced economic development and reduce economic disparity.

"Apart from partly balancing the pressure on the top tier locations, this would also add significantly to the stability of employees and reduce migration to large urban areas," he added.

Commenting on the methodology and findings of the study, Saurine Doshi of AT Kearney said that the objective of doing this study was to assess the potential of key 50 locations in India as hubs for IT and BPO operations.

"In addition to the defined information on the locations, the report also provides insights based on discussions with key stakeholders on factors that determine ‘location choices' for both companies seeking to outsource as well as companies offering IT-BPO services," he said.

Doshi further added that the insights from this report will serve as key reference point for everyone who plays a role in planning, development and leverage of a location.

The study was conducted by collecting and analysing data from 50 locations on over 100 metrics broken down in to key parameters like knowledge pool and skill-set availability, Infrastructure, social and living environment, business environment, government support and operating cost.

Apart from secondary research, a key aspect of the study was significant primary interactions with companies, educational institutions, government authorities and others in each of the 50 locations.
—iGovernment Bureau