Arin Basu edited summary.tex  almost 9 years ago

Commit id: 76c093c88b176e6eedf13232b79826010129c2e8

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\textit{Abstract}   We argue in this paper that as India is emerging to assert her "soft power" by influencing other countries, she is also becoming increasingly connected to the rest of the world. In turn, this interaction has resulted in a unique occupational/population health issue. situation that warrants examination.  Two significant developments since mid-1990s in India helped to establish India's pre-eminent position as an influencer. First, Indian entrepreneurs established "business process outsourcing centres" (BPO and Call Centres) that served back offices to the developed countries; second, the Y2K crisis provided opportunities to Information Technology literate Indians find overseas jobs. Both phenomena contributed to India's economic growth but also exposed Indians to life stresses in the developed countries. In call centres, Indians were exposed to additional burdens of working in night hours and stresses of interaction with clients from a foreign country and meeting their demands. How call centres treated treat  the employees in India became an important issue in the a topic of  occupational well-being of Indians. We present our findings from a survey conducted in Bengaluru, India and highlight health issues related to stress and work associated with BPO. We also draw a parallel with a survey of health effects observed among Indians and compared with other immigrants in Auckland DHB region in New Zealand. In the light of these findings, we discuss the broader question how should India address health issues to create a better environment for its own citizens even as it realises its aspiration as a global soft power.