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Mobile phone firms take job-generation call
Calcutta Telegraph - Calcutta,India
The mobile phone industry has emerged as a major employment
generator, throwing up more than 3.6 million jobs during the
past decade and holding out the promise of faster growth in
the days ahead.
Some 3.6 million jobs, including direct employment of 1.71
million, have been spawned. These have come from mobile
service providers, dealers and distributors and part of the
fixed network operators that service them.
Then, there are 9.12 million jobs in support services. Out
of these, 3 million arise in services that mobile operators
buy against the 35,000 hands employed directly.
Another 7.2 lakh jobs are generated through indirect
expenditure of government revenues, interest payments and
profits generated by mobile firms. Close to 1.8 million jobs
are created, directly and indirectly, when the industry
spends on network equipment and services.
According to a case study prepared by OVUM for the GSM
(global system for mobile communications) Association,
employees of mobile operators also create jobs when they
spend money on restaurants, holidays and food.
However, the report says one should not expect a sudden
spurt in employ- ment in the mobile phone industry.
“Revenues of cell firms are growing 50 per cent annually.
But we do not expect the number of jobs dependent on the
industry to rise quickly.
Wages will go up and so will productivity. But we do not see
employment related to the industry growing more than 30 per
cent during this financial year,” the report states.
In future, OVUM expects jobs to emerge in the manufacture of
telecom equipment in a way that makes India an export base,
and from outsourcing of customer services.
The report points to the recent trend of telecom equipment
majors setting up factories in India.
“Such projects will create new jobs and this might
eventually lead to India becoming an exporter rather than an
importer of terminals and equipment,” states the report.
If that happens, India will be able to build on its
strengths in outsourcing of customer services.
According to the National Association of Software and
Services Companies (Nasscom), about 15-20,000 Indian workers
are engaged in customer support of cellular firms.
With the development of mobile software services, Nasscom
estimates an exponential jump in employment from the current
base of close to 15,000 people. OVUM, however, does not
count these jobs in its estimate of 3.6 million. |
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