Dell Inc., the world's largest computer maker, said on January 30 that it will set up its fourth call centre in India and scout for land for a planned manufacturing plant in Asia's third-largest economy.

Texas-based Dell, which employs more than 10,000 workers in India, along with compatriots like General Electric have set up huge business process outsourcing units in India, home to a vast pool of low cost English-speaking workers.

Dell, which also develops software in India, and other companies like Nokia are now setting up Indian manufacturing bases to fuel local market demand in the country's $700-billion economy which is forecast to expand by close to 8 percent in the year to March 2006.

" India is not only a resource base for talent, but is now also a market space," Kevin Rollins, Dell's chief executive, told reporters.

"Our intent is to be here for the long term. The time is right to consider setting up a manufacturing site in India."

India's telecoms and information technology ministry expects planned foreign investment in the booming sectors to double to $22 billion in 2006 as global firms set up bases in the country.

Dell also plans to double the 300 product development engineers it now employs in India by 2008.

Rollins, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, declined to put a figure on the company's planned investment, a timing or a probable site for the proposed manufacturing plant aimed at Dell's currently miniscule share in an exploding Indian market.

"We have a 3-4 percent market share in India," Rollins said, adding the target was to raise it initially to the 10 percent the company enjoys in much of the rest of Asia.

Rollins estimated India had the capacity to buy nearly 10 million desktops a year over the next three to five years, up from 4 million units currently.

Vast untapped market

" India is a huge market in its own right," he said.

Dell competes with global players such as Hewlett-Packard Co., International Business Machines Corp. and local giants like HCL Infosystems Ltd. and Wipro Ltd.

Commercial demand for computers is soaring in India as thousands of companies computerise their processes. Falling prices, cheaper finance and rising salaries are fuelling retail demand for desktops.

Rollins said Dell's fourth customer call unit in India would be situated in the tech-hub of Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi. It is expected to add up to 1,000 workers to Dell's India payroll by the end of 2006.

Dell has one call centre each in Bangalore, the southern city of Hyderabad and the northern town of Mohali.

India will be the only country in Dell's 30-site contact network that supports customers in all geographic regions.

Romi Malhotra, managing director at Dell's Indian operations, said the company would raise its head count to 15,000 workers in the next couple of years.

India 's information technology and call centre industry directly employs 1 million people, and indirectly about three times that number in jobs ranging widely from transport and security to catering and housekeeping.

A report co-authored by consultancy firm McKinsey in December forecast India's business services and information technology exports would surge by more than 25 percent a year and reach $60 billion by 2010.

Heavy demand for outsourcing of services such as payroll processing and insurance claims has helped the industry grow at a compounded annual rate of 56 percent since 2000.

"Our teams in India have integrated well with Dell's operations," Rollins said, adding he expected the firm's global sales growth to exceed industry growth during 2006.

 ( www.zdnetindia.com)