Telecommunications equipment and services - the biggest spending category - is forecast to reach Rs131 billion in 2012, up from Rs113 billion the previous year.

Spending on software is expected to grow the fastest, with revenue totalling Rs34 billion, up 28% from 2011 revenue of nearly Rs27 billion. This is being driven by extensive deployment of enterprise software applications such as financial and administration packages and customer relationship management, says Gartner.

Derry Finkeldey, principal research analyst, Gartner, says: "The real spend drivers will be the Indian retail bankers, although all financial services sectors including insurance and securities are increasing IT spend as they build out their infrastructures."

Finkeldey adds that mobile is increasingly important for Indian banks, with spending predicted to grow by nearly 50% this year with a corresponding 30% rise in network services expenditure.

"This focus on mobility is a global trend, but particularly pertinent to Indian FSIs. They are all focused on leveraging the high mobile penetration to bring banking services to a wider audience," says the analyst.