Indian employees told to vote

With people in high-tech hub Bangalore going to the polls in India's month-long general election, their paymasters push them to vote.

With its slick corporate parks and booming professional class, Bangalore is amongst many cities in India that received some unusual encouragement to vote.

SOUNDBITE (English) KIRAN KUMAR, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOUCES (EUROPE AND ASIA), ADEA, SAYING:

"Typically in the IT industry these employees are not having time - they need a push. You do this, you do this. Rather then expect them to go and enlist themselves we thought we would help them, we'll set up a helpdesk, we'll create an awareness campaign that every vote matters and for what you need to do."

Kiran Kumar, Director of Human Resources for the global IT-firm Adea, is one of the many business leaders who have been encouraging employees to vote, believing a stable government is needed to run a stable business.

Companies aren't just encouraging voting, but explaining the election process too.

And that's not all, as Adea's Priyanka Hedge explains.

SOUNDBITE (English) PRIYANKA HEDGE, HUMAN RESOURCES EXECUTIVE, ADEA, SAYING:

"This is our discussion room here, which was turned into a helpdesk for two days for our employees, to run them through the voters registration from start to finish."

The major multi-national firm, Accenture, was another company to encourage its employees to register to vote.

But Executive Director Rekha Menon was quick to dismiss any notion that business was mixing with politics.

SOUNDBITE (English) REKHA M MENOM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE, SAYING:

"We're not saying who to vote for. We're not saying this group is good or bad. Not at all. All we're saying is here is your time to make your voice heard and participate in the election process and therefore be the change - get the change that you want in. That's all. And be good corporate citizens. We're not saying who for."

25-year-old Pradeep Augustus, who works for Adea, headed to the polls for the first time on Tuesday.

He admitted that if his company hadn't encouraged him to vote or made it so easy for him to register, he probably would not be here.

Having done the deed, he said he felt that voting gave him the right to come down on politicians.

SOUNDBITE (English) PRADEEP AUGUSTUS, FIRST TIME VOTER AND ADEA EMPLOYEE, SAYING:

"And now I can criticize the government!"

It'll be over three weeks before the results of India's ongoing general election are known.

But India Inc. feel pleased to be leaving their mark on the world's largest democracy by increasing voter turn-out among their employees.

Lyndee Prickitt, Reuters