ARN

Indian IT industry gears up to counter swine flu

Indian outsourcers employ more than 300,000 people, which could spell trouble as swine flu spreads

India's software trade body on Thursday moved to reassure the government and customers that the industry was taking precautionary measures to protect high-tech workers from swine flu.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said on its Web site that although the Indian IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) industry is heavily travel oriented, inward and outward business travel has not been impacted.

Swine flu has spread throughout India, infecting over 1,200 people and killing 23 in the last two weeks. India's top outsourcers -- Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro -- together employ over 300,000 staff, most of which are in India.

A number of preventive measures have been taken, such as installing hand sanitizers, active monitoring for symptoms and increased surveillance of visitors displaying symptoms, Nasscom added.

"We have advised travel only when absolutely necessary," said a spokesman for Microsoft Research in Bangalore on Friday. For the rest, the company is focusing on preventive measures and good hygiene, he added.

Outsourcing companies have also taken measures to allow staff to work from home if they return from a trip abroad and have flu symptoms. "If they have flu symptoms like cough, cold or fever, we have asked staff coming from abroad to stay at home for about three days after their return," said a spokeswoman for outsourcer Infosys Technologies.

In the initial stages of the epidemic in India, a large proportion of the victims of the flu were people from the IT industry who returned from work assignments in the U.S. and Europe.

In Pune, India's worst-affected city so far, some outsourcers and multinational companies have also put into place restrictions on travel into and outside the city. Nasscom has postponed a conference scheduled for next week in Pune until November.

Come socialise with us! Facebook | LinkedIn

More about: Infosys, Infosys Technologies, Microsoft, Tata, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: india, security, swine flu
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
ASI Solutions , Bluechip Infotech , Compucon Computers , Dicker Data , Express Data , Express Online , Impact Systems Technology , Ingram Micro Australia , Leader Computers , Leading Pacific Australia , NewLease , Simms International (For Simms International please see Express Online) , Synnex Australia , Topstar Computer International , Westan , XiT Distribution , Xpress I.T.
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/dpsa/2011-05-29_389_we-have-apc-in-stock
DPSA

We have APC in stock!

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.