The other big BPO provider in the city is Genpact, which has two centers there. The headcount between two centers is 1,800.

No company is doing significant IT work from Jaipur yet, though Wipro is actively considering opening a facility there.

Kolkata Made famous by the Patrick Swayze starrer City of Joy and Mother Teresa, the Albanian nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work among the destitutes of Kolkata, the city is known for its intellectual bent — Kolkatans pride themselves on their knowledge, especially in the arts, literature and languages. Not a small city by any standard, Kolkata's communist roots has traditionally kept investment in the city at bay.

Realizing that its been left behind in India 's growing position in international business, the state government is now doing its bit by offering generous incentives. The government is also offering low electricity tariff to industry, and a state that was known for its poor power supply until the 1980s is today one of the few power surplus states in the country.

Moreover, it has declared IT as an “essential industry” and has over the past few years attracted IT bigwigs like Wipro, Cognizant and ITC Infotech. Infosys and Satyam, too, are considering setting up shop there.

On the BPO side, Genpact and HSBC's BPO center are taking full advantage of the strong English-speaking people of the city. Genpact's BPO center employs around 525 people. Primary and secondary education in Kolkata, unlike many other Indian cities, lays a lot of emphasis on English language and literature, to the extent that people from the city are known to fill the ranks of jobs that require strong English language skills such as copy editing and journalism.

Numbers seem to support the rationale of setting up BPO businesses in Kolkata. Attrition in the city is low — in BPO it is almost 15%–20% lower compared to the industry average of 30%, according to Tholons, an outsourcing advisory firm. Salaries are about 28% lower and the cost of setting up business is 20% lower in than in other BPO hubs.

On the downside, communism still rears its head from time to time in the city. Recently, there has been controversy about the setting up of trade unions for BPO staff. Government support, too, seems to be erratic. Infosys, which announced opening a center there in March 2006, has still not been able to do so. Run-ins with the government have been cited as a reason.

Kochi While tourism continues is a big contribution to the city's coffers, IT and BPO, too, are emerging on the city's radar. Kochi is one of the few smaller cities of India where multinational companies have a presence. HP, ACS and Oracle have centers here. Amongst the Indian companies, Wipro has more than 600 people in the city. TCS, too, has a center there. A “ Smart City ” is being developed in Kochi with help from Dubai . This will house IT, BPO, biotech, telecom and media companies.

Kochi has relatively cheap real estate, good power supply, good schools and colleges (it has 25 colleges), and a privately run airport. It has lower overall operational costs than most other Indian cities, according to a recent study by Alsbridge.

Thiruvananthapuram (We don't expect you to be able to pronounce this one!) is another city of Kerala where companies are heading. McKinsey has had a shared-services center there for almost five years. Ernst & Young, Infosys and TCS also have a presence there.

Chandigarh One of the best-planned cities of India , this North Indian city has seen Dell and Quark operate there for many years. In a recent visit to Mohali (on the outskirts of Chandigarh , where Dell has set up a center), Michael Dell had said, “The quality of the Mohali workforce coupled with the state's commitment to information technology growth will help us adhere to the highest levels of service.” The center at Mohali provides technical support and customer care to Dell customers in the U.S.

The government is very supportive to IT investment, and road, power and telecom infrastructure in the city is very good. Residential rentals are lower than many cities, and hover in the range of $550–$650 per month, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle study.

On the downside, being close to Delhi , Chandigarh sees a lot of young people leaving the city and going to Delhi for better work opportunities. English language, too, is a bit of a problem amongst people in the city.

Mangalore and Mysore Mangalore is taking full advantage of being Bangalore 's neighbor and is working hard to accommodate work that Bangalore may not be able to. Three IT parks are currently under construction in the city — one of them will even have a helipad. The first IT company to set up shop in Mangalore was Infosys. Now, the other two major Indian IT companies — TCS and Wipro — also have centers there. First American Corporation and MphasiS, the BPO services company that was recently acquired by EDS, are also present in Mangalore.

Mysore is the city that houses Infosys' famous training center — one that has been abundantly showcased in the media. It is probably quicker to get to Mysore from Mangalore on the new expressway than it is to travel within Banglore city!

Other cities in the region that are receiving government attention in terms of infrastructure are Hubli, Gulbarga , Belgaum and Bellary .

Coimbatore Coimbatore is a fast emerging city in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu, which also houses Chennai, is one of the country's best-connected states, with an optic-fiber network of more than 14,000 kilometers. Wipro is expanding its presence there.

Ahmedabad It is home to the Indian Institute of Mangement (IIM), one of the world's leading business schools. It also has the largest industrial center in Western India . Companies like HP (it has set up Experience Zone there) have already discovered this place. Recent Hindu-Muslim riots in the city have, however, colored the city's reputation.