Cyber fears cost India $1 B

By agencies   |   Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: The burgeoning outsourcing business in India is not restricted to call centers anymore with data processing units coming up in large numbers but absence of proper data security and cyber laws is hampering their business prospects, say experts. Security of information is a major concern for companies outsourcing their jobs and they are insisting on BPOs to get certified under international certification standards such as BS 7799, SAS 70, HIPAA standards because compared to the laws in U.S. and U.K. the Indian IT Act 2000 offers woefully inadequate protection, says Mandeep Garewal, Director Force Tech Security, a consultant to BPOs on data security related matters. An estimated 20 percent more work would have come India's way if a data protection law were in place, says Garewal. Given that the BPO industry had a turnover of $3.6 billion in 2003-04, that translates into business worth about $720 million. About $1 billion worth of more BPO work would have come here if stringent security norms and suitable laws were in place in India," says Garewal.