CallCentersIndia — Foreign Professionals Seeking Jobs in India, 2004

CallCentersIndia, 2004 — "Foreign Professionals Seeking Jobs in India" · Featuring Anil Mahajane, Talent Hunt Private Limited

Publication Details

Publication
CallCentersIndia
Date
2004
Featured
Anil Mahajane
Organisation
Talent Hunt Private Limited
Topic
Reverse Migration · Global Talent Mobility · BPO & IT Services
Original Article

A BPO Publication Documents a Historic Shift

By 2004, India's BPO and call centre industry had grown into one of the world's largest and most significant outsourcing destinations. CallCentersIndia — a specialist publication tracking this sector — featured this interview as evidence of a remarkable development that industry practitioners were beginning to observe first-hand.

While the global outsourcing debate was largely focused on cost savings and job transfers flowing one way, Anil Mahajane was among the first to document the reverse: foreign professionals were enquiring about jobs in India in growing numbers, every week.

Observations from Anil Mahajane

"Until sometime back it was only expatriate Indians who were shifting to places like Bangalore, Mumbai or New Delhi. However, for the last few months, overseas workers have also started showing interest in India and every week the number of queries from foreign professionals is increasing. It is not just because of the feel-good factor." — Anil Mahajane, CallCentersIndia, 2004
"Moreover, not many countries offer benefits like political stability, comfort level and competence at the same time. Besides, countries like Singapore and Hong Kong — which were earlier attracting a lot of foreign workers — are now reaching saturation point. This stagnancy factor has reduced the number of opportunities available there." — Anil Mahajane, CallCentersIndia, 2004

Where Foreign Professionals Were Looking

Enquiries received by executive search firms at the time spanned a wide cross-section of India's growing economy:

Information Technology
Biotechnology
Research & Development
Garment Industry
Hospitality
BPO / ITES

Most enquiries were for middle and senior management positions — though interest extended across seniority levels, signalling that India's appeal was broad and structural rather than limited to a specific talent tier.

A Specialist Publication at the Front Line of the Trend

CallCentersIndia's decision to feature this interview in 2004 placed it among the earliest specialist publications to document reverse migration into India. The article was widely referenced across the industry and circulated at a time when the BPO sector was at the centre of global debates about outsourcing and employment.

Reverse Migration BPO Industry Global Capability Centres Executive Search International Recruitment Published 2004 · CallCentersIndia

Over the two decades that followed, India grew to become the world's largest GCC destination and a globally recognised hub for technology, leadership and innovation — validating every observation made in this interview at the outset of the trend.

← Asia Times: Reverse Swing in Outsourcing Back to Media Recognition India Abroad (USA): Foreign Professionals Seeking Jobs →