Misys chairman Kevin Lomax has outlined plans to double the number of software staff working in India to 1000 by the end of 2005, as the company centres more new product development on the sub-continent.
Lomax told a news conference in Bangalore that most of the growth would come from new recruitment, not by shifting UK and US jobs abroad. He says the company intends to raise R&D expenditure by 55% over the next three years.
Misys has 2500 product development staff worldwide, about two-thirds of whom are employed in the UK and US, and a small number in the Philippines.
The current Indian operation grew as Misys cut back on technology employment in Dublin, which is now home to about 200 mainly sales and support staff, down from a peak of 500.
In January, Misys Risk Management Systems opened a development centre in Bangalore, with plans to employ 100 full-time staff, adding to the company's existing facilities in the city for retail banking and healthcare systems development.
Lomax says the software firm aims to employ 15% of its global headcount from India by end-2005.