Progeon, the business process outsourcing arm of Infosys Technologies, is on a hiring spree.

Notwithstanding the backlash on Indian BPO units in the US and UK, the company is adding close to 500 employees at its centre in Bangalore and Pune.

India and Outsourcing: Complete Coverage

Progeon had 1,038 employees at the second quarter September 2003.

The company expects the total headcount to touch 1,500 by March 2004. At present, the company has 1,300 people on the roll but it is scouting for more heads to service clients. Presently, all the 1,300 employees are located at Progeon's two units at Bangalore.

The Pune unit, which has 350-seat capacity is yet to start operation. Progeon, which is active in domain areas such as banking, securities and brokerage, insurance, telecom, finance and accounts, had eight clients by the end of September quarter.

During the second quarter the company added three new clients.

Observers believe that the new recruitment points out to the fact the Indian BPO sector is ready to weather the temporary phase of backlash from the West as foreign companies will finally see the economic benefit out of outsourcing to low-cost-operation countries.

Progeon has achieved a break-even in the fourth quarter of its operations.

On a yearly basis, Progeon posted a loss of Rs 3.1 crore (Rs 31 million). For fiscal 2004, Progeon's income is likely to be in the range of Rs 76 crore (Rs 760 million) and Rs 85 crore (Rs 850 million).

While the Pune facility is likely to be operational during this fiscal, Infosys recently reached an agreement with the government of Mauritius, to establish a 1,500-seat facility there.

The decision was made to mitigate country risk. In the event of a disaster, the government of Mauritius will provide air charters and visas on arrival to 1,500 personnel. Progeon is an integral part of this plan.