The Indian call center industry has played a pivotal role in the global business process outsourcing (BPO) sector since the late 1990s. Its origins trace back to economic liberalization in 1991, when India opened its markets to foreign investment and deregulated several sectors. Faced with escalating labor costs and increasing demands for 24/7 customer support, Western companies, primarily from the US and UK, began exploring offshore outsourcing. India emerged as an attractive destination due to its large, English-speaking, college-educated workforce, favorable time zone differences, and significantly lower operational costs. Early adopters like British Airways, American Express, AT&T, and Dell pioneered this movement, setting the stage for India’s rapid rise as a global BPO hub. Initially, the focus was largely on basic voice support and back-office tasks, driven purely by cost arbitrage. 

Over the next two decades, India became a global hub for voice-based services. Cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Gurgaon evolved into major outsourcing centers. The industry expanded beyond simple customer service to technical support, telemarketing, and financial services. Domestically, Indian companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, and Infosys began offering voice-based solutions to both Indian and international clients, giving rise to a parallel domestic call center industry, catering to sectors such as banking, telecom, and e-commerce.  

The Indian domestic call center industry on the other hand too has grown significantly over the past two decades, driven by the rapid expansion of sectors such as telecommunications, banking, insurance, retail, and e-commerce. As more Indian consumers gained access to mobile phones, internet services, and digital platforms, the need for robust customer support in regional languages became critical. Companies began setting up call centers within India to cater specifically to the local population, often providing support in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and other regional languages. Unlike international BPOs that primarily operate in English and serve overseas clients, domestic call centers are tailored to the linguistic and cultural nuances of Indian consumers, making them integral to customer relationship management within the country.               

Today, the domestic call center industry in India employs hundreds of thousands of workers and is supported by both large IT service providers and specialized BPO firms. It serves a wide range of clients, from telecom giants like Jio and Airtel to online retailers like Flipkart and government helplines. Technological advancements, including cloud-based call systems and CRM tools, have enhanced efficiency and scalability. However, the domestic sector typically operates on thinner margins than its international counterpart and faces challenges such as high employee attrition and increasing automation.             

In the present day, India’s call center industry is valued at several billion dollars and employs over a million people. The Indian contact center software market reached ₹11,620 crore (USD 1.4 billion) in 2024 and is projected to soar to approximately ₹72,960 crore (USD 8.8 billion) by 2033, with a robust CAGR of 20.6%. The broader call center market in India is expected to outpace global growth, with a CAGR of 13.9% from 2025 to 2035.

India’s call center industry, a global leader in BPO services, faces unique challenges due to the country’s vast linguistic diversity. With over 22 officially recognized languages and hundreds of dialects, domestic and international call centers must navigate complex communication barriers. While Indian agents are highly proficient in English and several foreign languages, many call centers still struggle to provide seamless multilingual support. This gap limits their ability to serve India’s diverse domestic market and international clients who prefer native-language interactions.      

Beyond language barriers, the industry contends with high call volumes, long wait times, and agent attrition, which impact service quality. The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector, one of the largest users of call centers, faces strict compliance and data security regulations, adding another layer of complexity. Traditional call centers often rely on human agents for repetitive queries, leading to inefficiencies and rising operational costs. However, AI-powered solutions like Tunk.ai are transforming the landscape by automating responses, improving clarity, and ensuring compliance.

Tunk.ai supports over 50 languages, including major Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Bengali) and international ones (Spanish, French, German). This allows businesses to serve global customers in their preferred language, improving satisfaction and retention. According to Future Market Insights, the demand for multilingual call centers is rising as companies expand into emerging markets like Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Tunk.ai’s Voice AI agents now transcribe and analyze calls in real time and can accurately attribute speech to individual speakers. This technology enables seamless, context-aware conversations, regardless of language or accent.

By leveraging AI, Tunk.ai can help neutralize accents making conversations clearer for both Indian and international customers. Tunk.ai also filters background noise, ensuring crystal-clear conversations.

With chatbots and Voice Agents handling 60-70% of routine queries, human agents can focus on complex issues. The India Contact Center Software Market (IMARC Group) is expected to grow at 14.2% CAGR (2024-2032), driven by AI adoption. Automated call summaries and sentiment analysis help supervisors monitor performance and coach agents effectively.

Tunk.ai ensures secure, compliant interactions by encrypting sensitive data and flagging regulatory risks. This is critical for banks and financial institutions, which account for 30% of India’s call center demand.

By automating routine queries and scaling instantly to handle peak volumes, Tunk.ai reduces operational costs and agent burnout, while maintaining high service quality.

India’s multilingual workforce is one of its most powerful yet underutilized assets in the global customer service market. With dozens of major languages and hundreds of dialects spoken across the country, call centers that can leverage this linguistic diversity gain a significant edge, both domestically and internationally. Tunk.ai enhances this advantage by empowering call centers with AI-driven tools designed to support real-time, multilingual customer interactions.    

Tunk.ai’s Voice AI agents are built to understand and communicate in over 50 Indian and international languages, enabling seamless customer engagement in the language most comfortable for the user. This fosters stronger customer relationships, increases satisfaction, and reduces churn. For global clients, this means culturally relevant, localized service that feels native, regardless of geography.   

The platform’s ability to operate 24/7 across time zones ensures uninterrupted support, vital for e-commerce, travel, finance, and tech sectors. Moreover, Tunk.ai delivers consistent service quality at scale by automating routine queries, minimizing human error, and enhancing call clarity through accent neutralization and noise filtering.   By combining linguistic adaptability with AI-powered scalability and compliance, Tunk.ai transforms multilingualism into a strategic advantage. It enables Indian call centers to not only compete globally but also set new standards for inclusive, responsive, and high-quality customer service.

As India’s call center industry surges toward ₹73,000 crore by 2033, the demand for intelligent, multilingual, and scalable customer support is reaching unprecedented heights.
Tunk.ai stands at the forefront of this transformation, equipping Indian call centers with cutting-edge Voice AI to:
Eliminate language barriers with hyperlocal, accent-neutral support across 50+ languages.
Boost efficiency by automating 80% of routine queries, freeing agents for high-value interactions.
Enhance global competitiveness through culturally attuned, 24/7 customer experiences.

More than just solving today’s challenges, Tunk.ai is redefining the future of customer engagement, ensuring India remains the undisputed leader in AI-powered, multilingual call center excellence.

Discover how Tunk.ai can transform your customer support: https://tunk.ai