Lok Sabha Question No. 1688 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-05-04
Subject: Rural BPO Scheme
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, S.P. MUDDAHANUMEGOWDA, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO, SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD, T. RADHAKRISHNAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS &INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1688

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.05.2016

## Rural BPO Scheme

## 1688.   DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA: KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD: SHRI T. RADHAKRISHNAN:

Will the Minister of Communications & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

- (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?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(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 12 th 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  28 th 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  31 st 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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