The General Agreement on Trade and Services

The General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) has created a lot of interest in all areas of professional services. Conflict is on in professional circles on the methodology to be adopted – often so deliberated to achieve nothing but confusion.

The general fear in all circles – regardless of the profession – is that of being ‘gobbled up’ by the large firms and companies from abroad. This is further accentuated by the fact that the large companies who entered India – albeit not entirely legally – in the mid 2000’s were employing staff at wages and salaries much higher than the normal industrial standards, resulting in a drain on available technical manpower, and this along with the growing exodus to the new gulf boom, resulted in most firms crying foul. Firms of Architects have not till now felt the ill effects of mergers and acquisitions – nee ‘Gobbling up’ – but this is not true of other professions like the legal and accounting. We now look at these as perfect examples of the ill effects of opening out the economy. The fear is cloaked in such language as ‘the projects are all here, what will we do trying for projects outside’?

Basically – we are SCARED!!!

I, for one – at the expense of the pleasure of my colleagues – have always looked upon the proposed opening out as an opportunity to at last gear up to the new techno challenge.
Of course, the fear that clients feel elevated in associating with ‘foreign’ firms are by and large real, but that fear has to be eliminated by dedicated and elevated standards of professional services to be delivered by the current players of the Indian industry.

The knowledge and capacity of Indian professionals are well known all around the world, cutting across professions. Where others score above us is only in ‘the systems’ involved, of the approach to finding and delivering solutions.

Care has to be taken about another ‘real’ factor – that of the high cost of software and associated paraphernalia of running a private practice today, compared to the cost of a drawing board a decade back. This is where the Dollar power can negate the Rupee, and is a matter of actual concern.

WE HAVE TO GEAR UP – USE GATS AS AN EXCUSE
The Time for Complaints is Passé!!!

Mohandas Kalipurayath
India, January 2008