Other Service Providers Association of India
Definition
Other Service Providers Association of India
The Other Service Providers Association of India (OSPAI) is the trade body for outsourcing, call centre and IT firms in India. Formed in 2008, it takes the case of its members on licensing and compliance to the Department of Telecommunications, its regulator.
OSPAI works one narrow patch of Indian policy. The Other Service Provider (OSP) category is the licence class telecom rules use for business process outsourcing (BPO), call centre and voice based IT enabled services (ITES) operators.
Its work sits below regulator level — it lobbies rather than legislates. Members range from large listed outsourcing houses to single site OSP startups, and the shared interest is paperwork, not pricing.
The body is registered in India and now runs from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Indian press reported its formation in August 2008, giving a Delhi address at the time. S V Ramana serves as President.
Unlike the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), which speaks for the whole sector, OSPAI sticks to OSP licence holders and their compliance.
Voice work dominates the membership, because voice OSPs face the strictest DoT interconnect and licensing rules. Firms running chat and back office work join for policy signals but face fewer direct hooks.
Key takeaways
- OSPAI is India’s trade body for Other Service Provider (OSP) licence holders, founded in 2008.
- Its remit is compliance advocacy before the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), not regulation.
- Four membership tiers scale by turnover and headcount, from associate up to founder.
- DoT’s November 2020 guidelines scrapped OSP registration certificates and bank guarantees outright.
- OSPAI speaks for OSP licence holders only, not the wider software and services sector.
How it works
OSPAI aggregates member concerns on DoT rules — licensing, bank guarantees, interconnect norms, remote work permissions — then files them as collective submissions. Membership sits in four bands scaled by revenue and headcount.
| Membership tier | One-time admission | Annual fee | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder | Rs 50,000 | Ordinary rate | Pre-2008 founding cohort |
| Ordinary | Rs 10,000 | Rs 50,000 | Rs 50 crore+ turnover or 500+ staff |
| Associate OSP | Rs 10,000 | Rs 30,000 | OSPs below the ordinary threshold |
| Associate non-OSP | Rs 10,000 | Rs 30,000 | Aligned non-OSP businesses |
Fees are one-time on admission plus an annual renewal. Only ordinary members hold voting rights; associate members reach the advocacy channels but cannot vote on constitutional amendments.
The body runs member forums, files submissions during DoT policy consultations, and circulates draft responses so compliance teams can align early. It does not audit members or enforce a code of conduct, so commercial autonomy stays intact.
Funding comes from member fees rather than vendor sponsorship or government grants, which keeps the advocacy line independent. New members get orientation on OSP paperwork, terminal identifier registration, and the compliance letters DoT sends after an audit.
Day to day, the secretariat works as a translation layer. DoT writes in circulars; a 200 seat call centre operator reads them as floor plans, headcount and shift rosters.
Examples
Four documented episodes show what OSPAI actually does: a 2019 filing to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the March 2020 lockdown relief, the November 2020 guidelines that rebuilt the OSP category, and the June 2021 order that narrowed it.
2019 TRAI submission. On 21 May 2019 OSPAI filed a response to TRAI’s consultation paper of 29 March 2019 on the terms and conditions for OSP registration. The filing carries more than a dozen substantive answers and is hosted on TRAI’s own site.
March 2020 lockdown relief. DoT circular No. 18-5/2020/CS-I (Pt.), dated 13 March 2020, relaxed work from home restrictions for OSP agents as India shut down.
OSPAI was among the industry bodies engaging DoT at the time, and it co-hosted a webinar with NASSCOM on the resulting work from home framework.
November 2020 guidelines. The Department of Telecommunications order 18-8/2020-CS-I of 5 November 2020 says “no registration certificate will be required for OSP centres in India” and “NO Bank Guarantee whatsoever will be required”.
That same order permitted work from home and work from anywhere in India, treating a remote agent as an “Extended Agent Position/ Remote Agent of the OSP”. Interconnection between centres of one company, and between different OSPs, was allowed too.
June 2021 order. Order No. 18-8/2020-CS-I (Pt.) of 23 June 2021 went further, in supersession of the earlier orders, and narrowed the OSP definition to entities “providing voice based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services”.
| Date | DoT instrument | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 13 March 2020 | Circular No. 18-5/2020/CS-I (Pt.) | Work from home relaxed for OSP agents |
| 5 November 2020 | Order No. 18-8/2020-CS-I | Registration certificates and bank guarantees removed |
| 23 June 2021 | Order No. 18-8/2020-CS-I (Pt.) | Earlier orders superseded, OSP scope narrowed to voice |
Industry footprint. These rules govern part of India’s technology sector. NASSCOM put industry revenue at US$282.6 billion in FY2025, with US$224.4 billion exported and 5.8 million people employed.
Business process management, the segment where most OSP licence holders sit, accounted for US$54.6 billion of that total — a reminder that voice and back office delivery is a minority of Indian tech revenue but a large share of its jobs.
Related terms
OSPAI sits inside a cluster of Indian outsourcing terms that readers mix up constantly. The entries below cover the delivery models and sector labels around the OSP licence, which stays specific to Indian telecom rules.
- Business Process Outsourcing: parent category covering outsourced non-core functions across industries.
- BPO: shorthand for business process outsourcing, used interchangeably across India.
- Information Technology and Business Process Management: the wider IT-BPM sector that NASSCOM represents.
- Knowledge Process Outsourcing: higher skill research, analytics and legal support outsourcing.
- Captive Centre: in-house offshore delivery unit run by the parent firm.
- Offshore Outsourcing: delivery model where the vendor sits in a different country from the client.
FAQ
What does OSPAI stand for?
OSPAI stands for Other Service Providers Association of India. It represents firms holding the OSP licence issued by India’s Department of Telecommunications, mostly outsourcing, call centre and voice ITES operators serving domestic and international clients.
When was OSPAI founded and where is it based?
OSPAI was formed in 2008, with Indian newspapers reporting the launch that August alongside a Delhi address. Its registered office now sits in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. S V Ramana serves as President.
How is OSPAI different from NASSCOM?
NASSCOM speaks for the wider IT-BPM sector, software product firms included. OSPAI covers only OSP licence holders, mostly outsourcing and call centre operators answerable to the DoT. The two have shared a platform, including a joint 2020 webinar.
Who can join OSPAI?
Any Indian firm holding a valid OSP licence can apply as an ordinary or associate member. Tier depends on turnover, headcount and OSP alignment. Buyers screening potential partners can browse the BPO companies listing instead.
What did OSPAI achieve during COVID-19?
DoT relaxed work from home rules for OSP agents by circular on 13 March 2020, and OSPAI was among the industry bodies engaging the department. The November 2020 guidelines then made work from anywhere in India permanent.
Does OSPAI regulate the BPO industry?
No; OSPAI is a trade advocacy body, and formal regulation of the OSP category sits with India’s Department of Telecommunications.
Explore more outsourcing terms and provider guidance at Outsource Accelerator.
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