Our economy benefits from offshoring: UK minister

Favouring offshoring to India, a visiting top UK government official said that the companies in the UK and its economy would benefit from outsourcing.

Offshoring is beneficial to the UK economy. In general, outsourcing will help companies in the UK stay competitive, Ian Pearson, Minister of state for trade, investment and foreign affairs, UK, said addressing a press conference.

"In the era of globalisation, companies have to stay competitive. One of the ways to ensure this is to look at the processes and make it efficient. Companies in the UK invest in R & D and other areas to remain competent and outsourcing is one option which will help them achieve efficiency," he said.

The UK government was making all efforts to help those who lost their jobs due to outsourcing, he said, adding that the UK government was preparing a report on outsourcing.

Stating that the Chennai-headquartered Scope International, BPO arm of the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank, was providing strong cost advantage for the bank, he said that the outsourcing was a business reality that would have to continue.

Karan Bilimoria, chairman, Indo British Partnership Network (IBPN), said that the delegation witnessed tremendous enthusiasm and confidence on the progress of future partnership between India and UK during its meeting with Indian officials and business community. Pearson said that India had huge manufacturing base, besides its software capabilities and that its expertise and capabilities in manufacturing is often undermined.

Stating that he was impressed with the quality of work in Tamil Nadu, Pearson said there were possibilities for co-operation between UK and Tamil Nadu in areas like IT, automotive, healthcare and textiles.

Answering on free trade agreement, he said that European Union was exploring the possibilities with other regions regarding this. India would be a strong candidate in terms of future partnership, he added.

During his visit to India, Pearson met British exhibitors at Autoexpo in Delhi and will address CII's Partnership Summit in Kolkata. He is accompanied by a 20-member business delegation that included senior executives from Standard Chartered Bank, Virgin Atlantic Airways and London Stock Exchange, among others.