mahikarnam

Infosys Technologies is investing Rs 1,250 crore to set up a new campus in Hyderabad that would be the company's largest facility in the world, said NR Narayana Murthy, chairman of the board and chief mentor of Infosys.

The 447-acre campus will be housed in its special economic zone (SEZ), a virtual tax-free zone aimed at promoting exports. The company, which is the second largest software exporter in the country, has a campus in Hyderabad, employing around 11,000 people.

“Around 25,000 people will be on the rolls in a span of ten years at the second campus. The first phase, which provides a seating capacity of 10,000, will be over in three years and will require an investment of Rs 600 crore,” said Murthy at a press conference here on Saturday.

The IT bellwether is building SEZs at Pune, Mangalore, Jaipur, Gurgaon and Trivandrum and it expects them to be the future growth centres.

Infosys has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore to invest in the new SEZs this year. “We will add 25,000 people in these centres this year,” said Mohandas Pai, member of the board, Infosys.

He said the company’s hiring plans were on track. “Though the headcount addition is lower as against last year, it is in line with our revenue growth. Last quarter , we added 7,500 people and we will be adding another 10,000 this quarter,” he said.

Infosys and other IT companies currently have units in software technology parks of India (STPI). These units are entitled for a tax holiday on export profits. Since the tax-break will end in a year, a majority of the companies are looking at setting up shop in SEZs where they will enjoy a tax holiday for at least twenty years. With the second campus, Hyderabad would emerge as the company’s training hub for enterprise applications (ERP).

It is already using its existing 50-acre campus for training employees in ERP. “The existing campus in the city has a residential facility for 450 people. In the new campus, we expect to provide accommodation to 1,000 people as part of our training and development,” said Mr Pai. Last fiscal, Infosys spent Rs 750 crore for education and training of its workforce.

The company has invested Rs 522 crore in its first facility in the city as on June 30, 2008. Exports from this facility accounted stood at Rs 2,279 crore in 2007-08 , accounting for 8.7% of the company’s total exports. Infosys employs 23,000 people in Bangalore. It has invested Rs 1,400 crore in Bangalore. The facility contributed to Rs 6,000 crore of exports last fiscal.