Business Services Industry

Thirteen/WNET New York's WIDE ANGLE Explores Offshore Outsourcing Through the Eyes of Four Indian Women in 1-800-INDIA, Premiering September 13 on PBS

Business Wire, Sept 1, 2005

NEW YORK -- Over the past decade, India has emerged as the leader in the rapidly growing global market for white-collar "outsourcing" jobs -- a notable component of India's rapid economic growth. It has been widely reported that up to half a million American jobs may have been "lost" to India in recent years through outsourcing, and some analysts project that the number will soon reach a million, as the Indian and Chinese back-office sectors expand by 30 percent a year.

In 1-800-INDIA, Thirteen/WNET's WIDE ANGLE reveals the transformation taking place inside India. Traveling to Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi and home to India's first call center, 1-800-INDIA follows four women who work for GECIS, the nation's largest BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company, with over 13,000 employees. Profiling these young women working at well-paid, demanding jobs that require long hours, late-night shifts, and Westernized work habits, 1-800-INDIA reveals the personal and cultural impact of this sweeping global trend.

1-800-INDIA premieres Tuesday, September 13 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). WIDE ANGLE is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York.

Through the stories of the four GECIS employees, 1-800-INDIA reveals the changes outsourcing is bringing to the evolving landscape of Indian cities and towns, to the Indian economy, and to the aspirations and daily lives of young Indians entering the new globalized work force. "What I love about it is I think it's given India confidence. Confidence is a huge thing," says Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO of GECIS and a pioneer of the outsourcing industry in India.

WIDE ANGLE anchor Bill Moyers will conduct a post-film interview with Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C., and author of Three Billion New Capitalists: The Great Shift of Wealth and Power to the East. They will discuss how the geo-economics of outsourcing are reshaping the lives of Americans, and the opportunities and challenges America faces in the new global economy.

1-800-INDIA producer Anna Cater has produced a wide range of documentaries for ABC Australia, CBC Canada, the BBC, and others. Director Safina Uberoi's recent film My Mother India, about her Australian mother's love affair with India, won 11 major international awards including the New South Wales Premier's Award, Australia's highest literary award for script writing.

WIDE ANGLE is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York for PBS. Stephen Segaller is executive producer. Pamela Hogan is series producer. Andy Halper is senior producer.

For additional information and photography, visit www.thirteen/pressroom/wideangle or www.pbs.org/pressroom.>