Last updated: February 25th, 2020 5:27 PM

Starting a BPO in India

The development of technology, the growing affluence of developing nations and the reduction in international trade barriers has created many organisations with a footprint across the world. The growth of international trade and technology has also led to increased competition, resulting in organisations looking for ways to reduce their cost and increase competitiveness. In this context, India has emerged as a Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) power-hub on the back of a strong English speaking population and a talented pool of people. The Indian BPO industry is estimated to be around $20-billion and is expected to clock a double-digit growth of around 12-15%, for the financial year 2013-14. Therefore, there still exists plenty of opportunity in the Indian BPO industry, and many Indian and Foreign Companies are looking to establish BPO / Call Centers in India. In this article, we look at the rules and regulations that concern the starting up of a BPO / Call Center facility in India.

Business Constitution

BPO service providers who provide service like telebanking, telemedicine, tele-education, tele-trading, e-commerce, call centre, network operation centre and other IT Enabled Services, by using Telecom Resources are required to obtain an “Other Service Provider” (OSP) registration by applying to the Department of Telecommunication. One of the criteria for obtaining OSP registration is that the entity applying for the OSP Registration be a Company registered under the Companies Act. Therefore, it is recommended that all businesses that wish to establish a call centre / BPO be established as a Private Limited Company or Limited Company under the Companies Act.

OSP Registration

OSP Registration is a must for service providers who provide service like telebanking, telemedicine, tele-education, tele-trading, e-commerce, call centre, network operation centre and other IT Enabled Services, by using Telecom Resources. To obtain OSP Registration, make an application to the Department of Telecommunication in the requisite format along with the supporting documents. The following are the documents that have to be submitted along with the application fee of Rs.1000/-:

• Certificate of Incorporation issued by Registrar of Company
• Memorandum and Article of Association
• Board resolution or Power of Attorney authorising the authorised signatory with attested signatures.
• A note on the nature of business/activities of the proposed OSP List of present Directors of the Company.
• Present shareholding pattern of the company indicating equity details

In case a service provider wishes to share the infrastructure between an International OSP and Domestic OSP, the facility must be at least 50 seaters, and the entity must also furnish bank guarantee to the Department of Telecommunication. The amount of bank guarantee for the application will depend on the establishment of the call centre architecture. Once the application is accepted and registration is granted, the registration will be valid for 20 years unless otherwise explicitly mentioned in the registration letter. OSP Registrations are location-specific; therefore, more than one registration may be necessary if the applicant has operations at multiple locations.

To know more about starting a BPO in India, visit IndiaFilings.com