NEW DELHI — UN peacekeeping forces, riots, ethnic and religious tensions have all slowed the Indian economy, but in New Delhi, the ever growing business of call centers are forcing some managers to find creative ways to get new employees.

They’re hiring the dead.

Rajnish Santhanam, owner of Delhi Last Call, a placement firm serving many of the call centers, said, “It’s very logical, once you think about it. I know many people are uncomfortable with the idea of employing the dead, but they make excellent workers. Voice synthesis has so greatly improved that you almost don’t know you’re talking to a dead person, and most people just think they’re talking to a very smart computer.

“With the voice synthesis, we also eliminate any trace of an accent, so an American customer doesn’t know they’re talking to someone in India.”

Indian call centers, businesses that provide phone support for many U.S. companies, were hitting their stride just when the afterlife was discovered. Many companies stopped outsourcing their call centers when the Indian telecommunications infrastructure collapsed in 2002. Significant investment from the IMF has repaired the infrastructure, leading to a resurgence in the telecommunications industry here.

Ari Gowda, a disembodied support specialist recently placed by Delhi Last Call, said, “It’s not an easy job and requires that a disembodied person be able to use a terminal fluently, which I can. It pays well and allows me to support my family.”

Disembodied workers generally receive only half salaries, making them attractive to employers. Lately, however, wages have been inching upward because of a shortage of AfterNet terminal-savvy workers.

Charu Gavaskar, a researcher with Indian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, said, “Naturally because of all the troubles here, the government hasn’t placed much emphasis on counseling and training for the disembodied. We’re paying the price for that now. Fortunately, Pakistan now leads the way in the region for such training and the natural rivalry between the two countries is spurring training here.”