India hosting business interns

India is attracting not just investors for outsourcing deals. Graduate students from top business schools in the US, France and Singapore are flocking to India for internship slots in India’s biggest private firms– most of them outsourcing companies.

Nasscom president Kiran Karnik points out that not only do the internships provide valuable business background but imbibe them with cultural fulfillment as well. Nasscom has suddenly found its hands full keeping track of the ever-increasing number of foreign interns – most of who headed to India to get a first-hand view of globalization. Despite being a competitive force in the outsourcing market, China did not present as much opportunities due to the language barrier.

Students however should be prepared to face a different work environment from the traditional Wall Street internship areas. State of the art office complexes stand side by side with rickety apartments with fluctuating power supply throughout the day. Mass transport system is virtually non-existent and shopping for even the most basic necessities could be frustrating and eat up hours of a confused foreigner’s time. These however belie the sophistication of the actual work done in the offices – all in direct contrast to the chaos outside.

Some companies, and even the schools themselves, are looking to take things a step further by building in the internship as a means of sending the bright young minds to actually work in India.

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