Infosys Hyd SEZ to be operational in 12 months

Infosys Technologies, the second largest software services exporter, has said one of its two special economic zones (SEZs) in Hyderabad would become operational within 12 months. The SEZs span across 440 acre and work on both of them has already begun.

In all, the company would invest about Rs 600 crore to set up new facilities at Mangalore, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar during the current financial year, according to chief financial officer S Gopalakrishnan.

“The market now is slow. We are readying ourselves to cater to client needs when the economy revives,” he said.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a CII conference here on Wednesday, Gopalakrishnan said the company would hire about 18,000 employees this financial year. “Offer letters have been issued to some of the campus recruits already and we would take some more freshers gradually.” Infosys currently employs about 10,000 people at its Hyderabad centre.

To equip entry-level employees with more competencies, the company has extended the training from three to six months before putting them to the regular work.

Meanwhile, with an eye on IT products space, Infosys has started piloting a retail product in India and other countries. The product would assist retailers with stock positions and other information, which is done manually now.

On the IT industry, the CFO said most companies impacted by the slowdown would recover in the mid-2010. "This would also increase the employment opportunities and as a result most of the companies would start recruiting around January 2010."