London: Western multi national companies (MNCs) could save up to $ one billion in five years by utilising the Information Technology (IT) outsourcing facilities in India, an international IT summit was told.

"The key message is that the companies in the West can save up to $ one billion in five years by outsourcing IT facilities in India," Arun Kumar, chairman of National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) said at the conference jointly organised by the 'Financial Times', London and the NASSCOM on January 29.

Kiran Karnik, president of NASSCOM said the one-day conference was a huge success in terms of business prospect it generated from outsourcing to India and the level of contacts it enabled to establish.

About 150 European end-user companies and 40 Indian companies attended the meet at the Hotel Renaissance in London.

Outsourcing to India would help the Western MNCs cut costs while increasing productivity and quality, as India has highly skilled and efficient workforce, chiefs of leading Western companies were told during the conference.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, who resigned as Parliamentary Affairs, Communications and IT Minister to take up party work, was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, but cancelled his visit at the last minute.

The summit, "Outsourcing to India – Strategic Direction for Value Creation and Growth" is an annual activity initiated in 2002 as part of NASSCOM's long-term strategy to expand the Indian IT Industry horizon beyond the US.

PTI