India major KPO centre: CII

India is set to become the most preferred destination for kno-wledge process outsourcing (KPO) as it grows 46 per cent to touch the $17 billion mark by 2010, says the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

In its recent study""India in the new knowledge economy""the CII said the services sector would grow at a more than eight per cent and its contribution to GDP would be above 51 per cent.

This, the study said, affirmed that India's transition from being a business process outsourcing destination to a KPO destination was imminent.

Areas with significant potential for KPO include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, technology, legal services, intellectual property, research and design, and development of automotive and aerospace industries.

"India could emerge as a global KPO hub as the business requires specialised knowledge in respective verticals and the country's engineering and technical institutes are geared to address the manpower demand," the study said.

The health care sector is projected to account for 7-8 per cent of GDP and provide employment to around nine million people.

India's spending on the sector is to the tune of $22.7 billion, the paper said.

"India has the opportunity to provide the best of western and eastern heath care systems," it said, adding that more than 70 per cent Americans preferred a natural approach to health and spend around $25 billion on non-traditional medical therapies and products, thus making India one of the most preferred destinations because of ayurveda and yoga.

The CII paper said around $31 billion of investment would be required in the health care sector in the next 10 years.

In the pharmaceuticals sector, it said Indian companies were offering custom synthesis services at a competitive price, lower by as much as 50 per cent than global costs, and clinical trials for as low as $25 million compared with $300-350 million elsewhere.