Nibba group: The INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

Introduction

The INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT)

services and IT enabled services (ITeS) industries in India have become highly visible nodes of the global economy, attracting substantial attention from international media and business interests as a prime destination for outsourcing and off shoring. The successes of these industries, as well as the recent anti-outsourcing backlash in the U.S. have produced a new global image of India as a rising economic power. It has also created the figures of the Indian ‘techie’ and call center agent as low cost (but ‘high quality’) technical workers who represent the main threat to American and European IT-related jobs in the current decade. IT has come to be regarded as a model for India’s future economic growth and development, based on the policies of liberalization and globalization. While much has been written about the history, growth and structure of India’s IT industry, there have been few critical analysis of its significance or implications for India’s overall social and economic development. There have been few sociological studies about the ‘work’ in these outsourcing industries, or of their most crucial ‘resource’, the workforce. IT has become the career option for many young educated Indians, for whom it offers salaries unknown in other sectors and an opportunity to live and work outside India. Software engineers, BPO workers, and others employed in IT- 3 related occupations constitute a new kind of workforce: they are highly educated, wellpaid, mobile, and closely linked into the global services economy. Work in IT industry is distinctive in that it is catering to the global market, and often performed ‘virtually’, giving rise to new kinds of workplaces, work cultures, and employment issues.
Image result for it industry image

Before the economic liberalization policy of the Congress Government (1991) in India, the scenario in organizations was completely different from that which exists now in terms of stability of workforce. In the 50’s and 60s more government/semigovernment organizations and very few private players existed. People preferred to work in government/semi-government organizations, as it provided job security and quality of work life. Those who entered the job market often remained with one employer. In the 70’s and later, external mobility increased dramatically posing a great threat to the organizations. The government is also encouraging entrepreneurship, helping many domestic players also to enter the Indian market. Voluntary turnover has now increased drastically, as the Indian market is opened to foreign players as well. This situation has resulted in stiff competition for competent workforce. Poaching and job-hopping has become the order of the day. IT contributed a major share towards the GDP (6.4 percent in 2011) of India is faced with the challenge of retaining people as the attrition rate is high. In FY12, IT industry has witnessed an average attrition rate of 17-25 percent as compared to other sectors in India like manufacturing, banking etc., which is about 8 percent. It was also observed that the attrition has dipped down in FY12 from FY11 (55-60 percent)according to a recent industry specific research carried out by the Associated Chambers Of Commerce and industry of India (ASSOCHAM).