India's Business Process Management (BPM) industry could lose $1 billion if the ban on diesel cabs in the national capital region continues, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said on Wednesday.
The industry body, which is also exploring legal options to mitigate the impact of the Supreme Court imposed ban, has flagged the issue at the highest levels of government including the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries of Finance, IT, Heavy Industries and Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
“The ban has brought the BPM industry almost to a standstill,” Nasscom Senior Vice President Sangeeta Gupta said. “If it continues for a six month period, the BPM industry faces potential loss of $1 billion.”
The industry, pegged at more than $25 billion with the Delhi NCR region contributing about 20 per cent revenue, mainly caters to global clients. A significant portion of the sector’s employees work on night shifts.
In NCR, the industry provides direct and indirect employment to more than 1 million people.
Women employees“With 38 per cent women employees in our industry, their safety has always been a big concern to us,” said Nasscom Vice Chairman Raman Roy.
“We are mandated to provide transportation for home drop to employees working after 8 pm. Taxis play a major role in ensuring this. In the absence of any reliable public transport, complying with this statutory guideline is impossible,” he said.
Separately, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, in a statement, said BPM firms supported global companies and that the ramifications of the ban on ‘ease of doing business’ in India would be far reaching.
