Massive encouragement for ‘Other Service Provider’ Industry in BPO and ITeS Sectors. Liberalized Guidelines issued by the Government of India
With an aim to qualitatively improve the Ease of Doing Business of the IT Industry particularly Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT Enabled Services, the Department of Telecommunications has drastically simplified the Other Service Provider (OSP) guidelines to allow Work From Home / Work from Anywhere amid Covid-19 pandemic.
The DoT has clarified that the registration requirement for OSPs has been done away with altogether and the BPO industry engaged in data-related work has been taken out of the ambit of OSP regulations.
Additionally, requirements such as deposit of bank guarantees, the requirement for static IPs, frequent reporting obligations, publication of network diagram, penal provisions, etc. have also been removed.
Similarly, several other requirements, which prevented companies from adopting ‘Work from Home’ and ‘Work from Anywhere’ policies have also been removed. Additional dispensations to enhance flexibility for the Industry have been allowed.
The new framework will provide a strong impetus to India’s industry and will make India one of the most competitive IT jurisdictions in the World.
The new guidelines are inspired by Prime Minister Modi’s strong emphasis on Minimum Government, Maximum Governance. India’s IT Industry is a source of pride for the country and the new guidelines are aimed at removing unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions to allow the industry to focus on innovative new products and solutions. With this reform, the Government of India sends out a strong signal of its support to the IT industry with a view to encouraging increased investment in the Sector.
PM Modi said on Twitter that the reform will certainly unleash the potential of our talented youth by making India a preferred destination for Information and Knowledge Outsourcing Industry and would further the vision of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’.
