Exim Bank Announces the Winner of IEDRA (International Economic Development Research Annual) Award 2011

Dr. Brijesh Pazhayathodi is the winner of Export-Import Bank of India’s (Exim Bank) International Economic Development Research Annual (IEDRA) Award 2011 for his Doctoral dissertation titled “Exports of Services and Offshore Outsourcing: An Empirical Investigation in the Indian Context”. The Exim Bank IEDRA Award 2011 was announced by  Mr. T.C. A. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director, Exim Bank, at an award function held on July 06, 2012, in New Delhi. The Award consisting of Indian Rupees Two Lakh Fifty Thousand and a Citation were handed over by the Chief Guest, Dr. Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, who also released Exim Bank’s Occasional Paper titled “Exports of Services and Offshore Outsourcing: An Empirical Investigation in the Indian Context’”, which is based on the Award winning thesis. (Photograph attached).

 

Mr. T.C. A. Ranganathan, in his opening remarks, highlighted that the Exim Bank IEDRA Award, instituted in 1989, is given for Doctoral dissertations in the area of international economics, trade & development and related financing by Indian nationals from Indian or foreign universities. The year 2011 was the twenty third year of the Award.  Commenting on the Award winning thesis, Mr. Ranganathan noted that the research study addresses the various facets of exports of services from India, which is a rapidly growing component of India’s Balance of Payment and role of outsourcing in services sector exports. Commending Exim Bank for its initiative in promoting research in international economics, trade & development, Dr. Basu noted that Exim Bank’s IEDRA award is a milestone in the area of promoting original research work. 

Winning Thesis

Dr. Brijesh Pazhaythodi obtained his Doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, in 2011 and at present is an Assistant Advisor in the Department of Economic & Policy Research, Reserve Bank of India, Bangalore. In his thesis, Dr. Pazhayahthodi notes that India’s exports of ITES/BPO services have witnessed expansion in recent years, especially after the Y2K problem (year 2000 software switching over problem). The availability of cheap supply of skilled labour has significantly contributed to the comparative advantage of India’s ITES/BPO exports. Innovations in IT technology, investment

in education by India for sustained period of time, such as in Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) / Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), and engineering colleges, proficiency in English language, time zone difference, etc. have been the contributory factors to growth of services from India in general and growth of ITES/BPO services in particular.

The research work found out India has advantage in exporting services which includes outsourcing of services when compared with export of goods. It also noted that offshoring from developing countries, such as India does not appear to have any disproportionately large effect on skilled tasks or jobs in the US or the UK. The contribution of software services and business services to the growth of foreign exchange reserve has been consistently rising over the years while that of merchandise trade and other services is coming down. The study also suggested certain policy measures including need for taking precautions to prevent sudden changes in exchange rate; active negotiation in WTO against any barrier measures like legislative changes, change in visa rules etc undertaken by developed countries; adequate attention to increase the quantity and quality of education, especially technical education in India; rapid improvement in infrastructure facilities to face the rising competition; substantial improvement of general business environment in India; and effective utilisation of India’s advantage in ITES/BPO sector to improve domestic governance and inclusive development.