National registry for BPO, IT soon

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has expedited the process of setting up the national registry for business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology enabled service (ITeS) companies in wake of the recent BPO sting operation carried out by a UK tabloid. The apex industry body expects a pilot run of the project in three months.

"There is an urgency to roll out the national registry, but this does not mean that we will be compromising on quality and content," said Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom.

The association has been working on it for the last six months and has been collecting data from the industry. The processing of the data is on, with Nasscom getting good response from all segments of the industry, he said.

Nasscom would take an initial feedback from the industry, before its final rollout. Karnik, however, did not put a time-frame for the final product.

The national registry was Nasscom's attempt at organising the sector and build a base of ITeS-BPO manpower that would be certified. The registry would also help in curbing attrition and e-crimes as the list would include the name of frequent movers and history sheeters of the industry.

The apex body had also roped in leading human resource consultancy firm, Hewitt Associates, as a partner for the registry. A working group, comprising industry representatives, academics, and consultants, was also formed for the purpose.

Meanwhile, speaking about the recent BPO sting by the `Sun', where an employee had sold bank account numbers and passwords of UK citizens for a "considerable amount", Karnik said Nasscom is working closely with the investigating agencies.