Right now, a big chunk of the revenue by this sector is generated from, in and around, the metro cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Other parts of the country, having availability of the talent pool and infrastructure, are yet to reap the benefits of this global boom that is already happening at such a massive scale. However, with the meteoric rise of this burgeoning industry it is essential to leverage the benefits of such a strong foundation into focusing and narrowing the industry interest towards the smaller/rural towns for their all-inclusive growth under the umbrella of the BPO IT industry.
This kind of demographic shift is very essential in the current set of environment to help bridge the gap of the digital divide. Keeping this in the mind, the ministry has launched India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) and North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS) under the Digital India Programme. The Invest India scheme for MSME’s aims at promoting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the MSME sector through adaptation of the ICT tools in their business and production processes. The bpo scheme also aims at creating awareness about e-platforms and promoting digital marketing in MSME and to empower MSME’s by digitally enhancing their performance towards higher competitiveness with more efficiency and low cost.
For more information also read – https://smeventure.com/new-kvic-chairman-manoj-kumar-prioritises-setting-up-of-micro-and-small-units/
The objectives of the BPO promotion schemes under the Digital India Programme are to create around 1.5 lakhs job opportunities for the local youths of smaller/rural towns and also to attract investments in the respective regions for all round development and economic welfare of the society.
A.) India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) :
The India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) , envisaged under Digital India Programme, seeks to incentivize establishment of many seats in respect of BPO/ITES operations across the country on a grand scale.
It is distributed among each State in a particular ratio of proportion to the State’s population. This would help in capacity building in smaller cities in terms of infrastructure & manpower and would become a basis for the next wave of IT/ITES led growth.
Important Features:
1.) Financial Support: Up to 50% of capital expenditure incurred on BPO/ITES operations towards capital expenditure (CAPEX) and/or operational expenditure (OPEX) on admissible items, subject to an upper ceiling of Rs. 1 Lakh/Seat.
2.) Special incentives toward employment of women & towards specially enabled persons.
3.) Incentives for generating employment beyond target & widespread dispersal within the state including the rural areas.
4.) Encouragement for local entrepreneurs to start new ventures.
5.) Special consideration will be given for Hilly states of HP, J&K and Uttarakhand.
The following is the current picture of it’s operations at a glance :
Total Number of Seats : 48,300
Total Allocated Seats Till Date : 57,697
Currently Allocated Seats : 44,092
Budget Outlay : Rs. 493 Crore
Operational/Tenure completed BPO / ITES Units : 227
No of Cities Where Units Operational/Tenure completed : 93
B.) North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS) :
The North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS) , envisaged under Digital India Programme, seeks to incentivize establishment of many seats in respect of BPO/ITES operations in North Eastern Region. This would help in capacity building in the region in terms of infra & manpower and would become basis for next wave of IT/ITES led growth.
Do watch – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0NkI9k59Ko
Important Features:
Financial support [Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and/or Operational Expenditure (OPEX)] of up to 50% of expenditure per seat, with upper limit Rs 1 Lakh/seat.
# Special incentives for :
1.) Women and specially enabled person employment.
2.) Generating employment beyond the target.
3.) Local entrepreneurs.
4.) Training incentives.
The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) shall be the Nodal Agency for the implementation of this Scheme.
The following is the current picture of it’s operations at a glance :
Total Number of Seats : 5,000
Total Allocated Seats Till Date : 3,511
Currently Allocated Seats : 1,451
Budget Outlay : Rs. 50 Crore
Operational/Tenure completed BPO / ITES Units : 19
No of Cities Where Units Operational/Tenure completed : 11
Location :
The NEBPS is to be implemented in all the eight (8) States of NER viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura.
It is clearly evident from the above BPO schemes example that important steps are being taken into consideration for developing the BPO ecosytem in the far nook and cranies of the country. There are also certain parameters for the BPO schemes eligibility which are essential for potential candidates to be aware before investing their efforts to obtain these schemes. The authorities taking charge of this campaign must also adhere to stricter protocols so that no amount of fraudulent activity is howsoever permitted under this scheme as it will lead to serious damage of the reputation of the regulatory body.
Two of the main BPO scheme details along with their salient features have been discussed here namely the IBPS and NEBPS. The sole aim of the BPO scheme government of India under Digital India initiative is to improve the online infrastructure and increase internet accessibility among citizens and the BPO session plans prove to be very fruitful in this regard.
The growth and demand for the IT/ITES industry is the real driver behind such innovative campaigns and initiatives which ultimately serve the business side as well as the employment side of the economy to reach it’s potential and thus improving the quality of services. If the initiative is implemented according to set standards it would prove to be a very important contribution for leading India to reach to the top in terms of Technology adaptation at the grass-root level.