India's NASSCOM launches employee registry
Network World, January 19, 2006

By John Ribeiro, IDG News Service

India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) Wednesday announced the launch of a National Skills Registry for IT and business process outsourcing professionals.

The NSR, which is online, aims to strengthen security in Indian IT and BPO by providing potential employers with information on employees, NASCOM Vice President Sunil Mehta said.

NASSCOM is looking at the feasibility of having a similar registry for employees of industry contractors as well. "We believe the entire ecosystem has to be protected," Mehta said.

A decision to set up a central registry was made last year in the wake of some allegations of data theft by employees in the country's BPO industry.

The registry has been set up by NASSCOM in collaboration with the National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL) in Mumbai, which is also hosting the registry. NSDL, which manages electronic share transfers, already has expertise in this area and hosts a database of investors, key executives of companies and stock market intermediaries, Mehta said.

The NSR has been designed to ensure authenticity of data through independent verification and biometric identification of employees, according to NASSCOM. Employees will enter personal, professional, and other information into the registry, and the information will be verified by independent agencies selected by NASSCOM and NSDL for that purpose, Mehta said.

The data on an employee can be viewed by an employer only with the consent of the employee, Mehta said. "This is a site that is in a way owned and operated by employees," he said.

NASSCOM expects the registry to finance itself down the line, as employers will be required to pay a fee to access data on an employee, Mehta said.