Outsourcing to India increased considerably in the last decade or so. Most of the outsourced jobs are from English speaking nations. There are valid reasons for such increase in outsourcing to this country.
Since India is a commonwealth nation, and it was ruled by the British for quite some time, educated Indians can converse fluently in English. Accent is, admittedly an issue at times, and so is the grammar. Nevertheless, Indians can comprehend instructions in English and are proficient in handling backend business processing.
Indians are also good in programming. Internet has given Indians an access to information about latest technologies, programming languages, and applications. Government has helped people acquire the required skills by subsidizing relevant training. Private training institutes have also mushroomed in most Indian cities. Non-resident Indians and local entrepreneurs have helped to cultivate local talent.
Government Incentives for Outsourcing
Indian government offers land and office space to foreign businesses that want to outsource works to this country. There are tax concessions for such businesses. In addition, some profits can be repatriated. Many of these offices are equipped with required infrastructure such as Internet connections, telephone connections, uninterrupted power supply, etc. There are several local businesses that help foreign entrepreneurs in starting such offices, and screening personnel. Foreigners can also find Hotels of International standards out here. There are travel agents for booking flights at short notice. Banks have also geared up to provide an atmosphere conducive to outsourcing. Therefore, foreigners can exchange monies more easily than ever before.
Internet has also helped to improve the standard of output in the country. Indians have realized that quality is as important as quantity for retaining outsourced jobs. Therefore, quality control procedures have become an integral part of all businesses in the country, especially the businesses that deal with multi-nationals.
Cheap Labor in India
One of the biggest advantages that India offers is cheap labor. This is because of its large population and traditional values. Unlike people in the west, many Indians live with their parents even after they marry. This reduces their expenses towards rentals. Consequently, Indian would find lower pay more acceptable than people from other English speaking nations.
Labor laws in India are not as stringent as in west. Therefore, any foreign business outsourcing job works to this country is not likely to waste much time on litigation relating to labor laws.
Though India has differences with its neighbors, and there are religious, ethnic, and caste based conflicts within the country, such issues don’t affect the regular business activity. State governments are also trying to provide required infrastructure to the people working for foreign businesses. New roads are being laid, and new railway lines are being built for better transportation. As of now, there are plenty of traffic jams, which will hopefully be history in a couple of years.
The Wild East
Intellectual property, data security, and data privacy are new terms for most Indians. While educated Indians have realized the importance of such rights, there are a few unscrupulous people who, even though they know it to be wrong, continue with their ways. Part of this problem is because relevant laws are just being implemented, and the turf is new for everybody. Laws needs some more teeth, and policing needs to improve.
On a one to ten scale for outsourcing destinations, India would score almost 7. The Gartner group rated India the 5th best country for outsourcing. Their criteria was geared more towards corporate outsourcing, but India continues to provide outsourcing services to entrepreneurs as well. India tends to excel with teams of workers in things like QA, but many individual type tasks are going to other countries.
