The country is better known as a hub for outsourcing of software development and comparatively low-end back-office work.

Some 225,000 jobs, mainly in computers and back-office work, moved offshore in 2004 alone, according to an estimate by Forrester Research.

Many of these had been in the forefront of shifting software development and back-office work, like call centers, to this country.

Global companies like General Electric found that they could do back-office work in India - if provided modern buildings.

The Tory-led council has already outsourced back-office work to the private sector and concentrates on some specialised functions such as support for school governors.

The problem of churn is even more acute for outsourcing companies offering lower-skilled back-office work like call center services.

"These highly educated and qualified people are not stopping at call centers and back-office work," he said.

More and more firms are likely to cooperate by forming joint ventures to save costs, like merging the back-office clerical work.

Some expect a swift migration of back-office work to other parts of the country.

Q. Why did you branch out from just doing back-office work and add consulting to the mix of services you offer?