[Editor's note: The link below is to an Indian newspaper with an article on this hiring coup. Check it out, there are charming ads on it as well, such as one for their "Billionaire Club" a celebration of 13 Indian billionaires. -- jdcc]
From: Bill Scannell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 17:53:02 -0600 Subject: Republican Party Outsourcing to India (not a joke) Just when you thought things couldn't get any odder, the GOP is now using telemarketers in India to raise funds for the Party of Lincoln: http://www.business-standard.com/archives/2003/jan/50310103.016.asp Bushıs party to raise funds via Noida, Gurgaon Bipin Chandran in New Delhi Business Standard, January 31, 2003 The US Republican Party now has a band of young and enthusiastic fund-raisers in Noida and Gurgaon. HCL eServe, the business process outsourcing arm of the Shiv Nadar-promoted HCL Technologies, has bagged a project to undertake a fund-raising campaign for the US Republican Party over the telephone. This is the first time such a project has been handed out to a company outside the US. The market research and public relations companies engaged by the party usually undertake such projects. HCL eServe has put in place a team of 75 people to work on the project out of its call centres in Noida and Gurgaon. According to industry sources, the number of seats could be ramped up depending on the success of the campaign. These operators are required to call up people in the US seeking their support for President George W Bush and a donation for the Republican cause. HCL eServe functionaries, however, refused to comment on the issue. ³We cannot comment on any client-related issues as a policy,² said the company spokesperson. According to the sources, the calling process involves high degree of automation in order to limit human intervention. ³The process is designed in such a way as to limit human intervention. The company wants to complete the process using the integrated voice recording technology, which allows navigation using voice responses,² said the source. The Republican contract comes on the heels of a successful anti-abortion campaign run by HCL eServe for a US politician. HCL eServe is building additional capacity in view of an expected growth in business. It is giving final touches to two new facilities a 1,200-seat centre in Noida and a 700-seat centre in Chennai. The company's board has approved an investment of $40 million for HCL eServe, which the company is expected to utilise to fund its various growth plans. India has generated considerable interest amongst global corporations looking at outsourcing key business processes. According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the Indian business process outsourcing sector has seen a four-fold increase in employment from 25,000 in 1999 to 106,000 in 2002. According to Nasscom, India's IT-enabled sector will exceed $20 billion by 2008.
