India Takes Economic Spotlight, and Critics Are Unkind

The New York Times ^ | March 7, 2004 | AMY WALDMAN

[Bombay Bloke]

"And, as a foreigner working in India, a socialist country, you will likely not receive the subsidies from the Indian government that Indian citizens doing the same work will recieve"

Er, what subsidies? I live in India, and I've never heard of any subsidies for call centre workers.

[Cronos]

So, Bombay bloke, with a call centre salary of say $200 a month, what can a guy buy on? Isn't it true that living in Bombay is expensive?

[dfwgator]

Pretty soon Indians will be whining when English-speaking African countries like Nigeria begin undercutting even the Indian rates.

[NRA2BFree]

I rest my case. LOL! You are a classic example of one who does not comprehend what I've been telling you. You are so hung up on believing that Indians and Americans are competing against each other for these jobs that you just don't "get it." Maybe India needs to revamp their English program to include further COMPREHENSION skills!

Anyway, I'm done with this thread. There's NO getting through to you. You just don't comprehend what I've been saying and I'm not going to waste any more time on it.

[NRA2BFree]

See post #44. That's your answer!

[AM2000]

You don't know what you're talking about, dude.

[Jimmy Valentine]

I have spent over thirty years in the banking business dealing with all sorts of people including the paragons of outsourcing.

Pleae do not hold your breath on this; you will wind up a most profound shade of blue.

Cynical, but sadly experienced regards,

[NRA2BFree]

You don't know what you're talking about, dude.

Wrong again! You're the one who doesn't know what you're talking about. I'm NOT a dude. LOL!

[AM2000]

Doesn't matter. You don't even understand how competition works in a globalized marketplace.

[537 Votes]

Why does it take white collars to get attention. We blue collars never get this much press.

You get the Super Bowl Beer Commercials.

[stboz]

You have to make things to survive as a Country. You can not just push paper's and have meetings and call a (it?) day.

Wash your mouth out with soap!! How dare you tell the truth?!! Any union member will tell you how full of stuff you are!!!!

[RightOnline]

""The U.S. is propagating capitalism — we don't really understand why they are so scared," said Ravi Shankar, 36, an employee of Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest technology services company. "If you're going to talk about competition, you should have no fear — may the best man win." "

Wrong-o, Ravi. It isn't about the "best" man; it's about the "cheapest" man. If Americans were paid less than a third of what you are paid, we'd be taking YOUR jobs. At least be intellectually honest about it and lose the air of superiority.

While you're at it, Ravi, at least be man enough to acknowledge that your country hasn't come up with an original, ground-breaking technology in centuries. You're capitalizing on America's work. Nothing wrong with that.......but refer above to my comment on your air of superiority.

[Euro-American Scum]

You'll like this one. ;)

I will? You mean there's some new slant to this offshoring thread that we haven't seen in the 566,328 other offshoring threads?

[AM2000]

It isn't about the "best" man; it's about the "cheapest" man.

It's about neither, because it's about both. What matters is cost factored along with productivity. If the "best" programmer can write an app in 1 hour and charges $500/hour, while an Indian programmer can write the same app in 5 hours but charges $20/hour, then unless the customer will lose money due to the 4 hour delay (enough to nullify the savings), he or she will purchase the product from the Indian programmer.

So, it's about both cost and productivity. Even though, in this example, the Indian programmers productivity is lower than that of the "best" programmer, his productivity is high enough, when compared to his cost, to get him the project.

[AM2000]

Pretty soon Indians will be whining when English-speaking African countries like Nigeria begin undercutting even the Indian rates.

Some of the larger Indian software companies are already examining outsourcing some of their work to China. The whining has begun, and will intensify as wages in India increase in response to this trend.

[Bombay Bloke]

It sounds like not much but, actually that's a damn good starting salary for the average graduate. True, Bombay is expensive, but Bangalore, which is the call centre heartland, is less so. A lot of these kids live with their parents, which is common in India, so a salary of 8 to 10 thousand rupees gives them quite a disposable income. They've become a new generation of consumers.