After years of night shifts, junk food and abuse from irate callers, the youthful generation that made India the call-centre capital of the world are facing burnout.

Reports of heart attacks, depression, suicides and diabetes among workers in their twenties have so alarmed ministers that they are to draw up a health policy for the flagship IT sector.

The problem is so acute that some estimates suggest that £100 billion could be wiped off India’s national income unless more is done to protect the health of its workers. Anbumani Ramadoss, the Health Minister, said of the IT sector: “It’s the fastest-growing industry in our country but it is most vulnerable to lifestyle diseases. Its future growth could be stunted if we don’t address the problem now.”

The rhythm of servicing clients in the UK, 5½ and the US, 12 hours behind on the West Coast, takes its toll. Divorce rates among IT employees in Bangalore have risen fourfold in the past three years.

For four years Madhur worked 15-hour shifts through the night in a call centre in Gurgaon, near Delhi. More than a year after quitting, the 26-year-old still suffers from insomnia. “My body refuses to adjust to the natural cycle of day and night. Even now I don’t get to sleep before 3am,” he said. “My life revolved around coming home in the morning, hitting the bed, eating and getting ready for the office again in the evening.

“The call centre had become the nucleus of my life — I really didn’t even get the time to booze. With hardly any exercise, the fat starts showing on you soon, making you all the more lethargic.”

Mr Ramadoss and A. Raja, the IT Minister, meet this week to formulate a dedicated health policy for the IT and business process outsourcing sectors, which employ more than 1.6 million people.

They want to introduce an industry charter, such as exists in Australia, that would include regular health checks by employers. They will put it to industry leaders this month and aim to implement it by early next year.

A report published last month by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations said that India could lose £100 billion over the next decade because of lack of preventive healthcare. The Delhi-based research group said that the IT services industry could be the worst affected. Burnout is common, with three out of ten workers changing jobs every year. One in seven is forced to leave the industry altogether because of stress. Some develop diabetes. Common complaints include sleeping disorders, voice loss, digestive problems, repetitive strain injury, blurred vision, headaches and dizziness.

Many do find the time to play hard too. A first-year call-centre executive, straight out of school or university, earns about £2,300 a year — twice what a trainee accountant or lawyer might earn. On weekends, they can be found in Western-style bars and nightclubs spending it.

Vikram Kalloo, who runs “corporate well-being” courses in call centres in Bombay and Pune, said: “Indian companies are the least concerned for the health of the employee because everything boils down to money.”

While the industry is unregulated, the leading Indian companies say that they do what they can to alleviate the stress of working long, unsociable hours. Most throw in extras such as a gym, yoga classes, salad bars in the canteen and door-to-door travel to entice employees to stay. Infosys Technologies, the second-largest Indian software exporter, has a 24-hour counselling hotline. The Bangalore-based company introduced a “work-life balance plan” after a 25-year-old employee died of a heart attack in 2005.

“Having certain regulatory standards is not a bad idea but, because of the shortage of talent, companies are already acting to make work a better environment,” Devendra Saharia, who runs an outsourcing centre in Madras with 1,500 employees, said.

Industry insiders question how the Government can impose a code of practice on the private sector and why it has picked on IT outsourcing when India has much greater labour issues in the textiles and mining sectors.

The IT industry is likely to resist change. It previously rejected a move to unionise workers, fearing that it would damage India’s competitive edge and deter foreign investment.

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