Question : Rural BPO Scheme

(a) whether the Government proposes to float ''request for proposals'' for its rural BPO scheme and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has launched the Indian BPO Promotion Scheme as part of the Prime Minister''s Digital India Plan and if so, the details thereof and the objective behind the move;

(c) whether the Government has sought Expressions of Interest (EoI) from companies and also offered certain incentives to them;

(d) if so, the number of companies that have shown interest in setting up BPO operations from rural areas; and

(e) the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to boost BPOs in the country to make job opportunities available to youth in semi-urban areas?

(a) to (d): The Government has approved India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) under the Digital India Programme, for promotion of BPO/ITES operations across the country including small towns and rural areas, with an outlay of about Rs.493 crores during the remaining period of 12th Five Year Plan i.e., upto 31.03.2017. About 48,300 seats have been planned with distribution across State(s)/UT(s) based on population percentage as per Census 2011, excluding metro cities including their urban agglomeration viz. Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, NCR (Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad), and Pune and States of North East Region (NER). IBPS provides capital support and other special incentives including incentive for: promoting local entrepreneur, employing women & physically disabled persons, setting up operations at locations other than State capital. The objectives of the scheme are creation of employment opportunities for about 1,45,000 persons and balanced growth of Information Technology & Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES) sector in each State. The





scheme was launched by Hon’ble MCIT on 28th December 2015 during Good Governance Week. The details of the scheme are available at IBPS webpage www.deity.gov.in/ibps .

The IBPS involves 2 stage approach: 1. Expression of Interest 2. Open bidding through Request for Proposal (RFP). The first stage, the Expression of Interest (EOI) was completed on 31st August 2015 which has received encouraging response. In the EOI stage, 78 companies have shown interest to setup BPO/ITES operations at 190 cities/district across the country for about 1,25,000 seats against the projected 48,300 seats.

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India, has been designated as the Nodal Agency for implementation of the IBPS. For selection of companies under IBPS, online bidding, to ensure transparency and easy access, through Request For Proposal (RFP) document is scheduled to be published by STPI after necessary approval of the Competent Authority.

(e): In order to make job opportunities available to youth in semi urban areas, through dispersal of the industry, consultation has been carried out with various stakeholders. During these consultations some of the issues raised by the industry in setting up operation in semi urban areas are un-interrupted power supply, internet connectivity, security, lack of business and infrastructure support from State Govt. Departments etc. These issues were discussed with State IT Departments and their support was solicited.

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