Wednesday, January 11 2006 17:22 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Space constraints are deterring Infosys Technologies Ltd's growth plans in Bangalore and the software major expects most of the headcount ramp-up to come in other cities of India, the company's management said today (Jan 11, 2006).

The NASDAQ-listed firm's Chief Financial Officer T V Mohandas Pai said the company was seeking land in Bangalore for expansion in the last four years but hasn't succeeded.

"We have no space in Bangalore. We have no capacity to expand in Bangalore. Bangalore is a very attractive destination to hire people but we don't have space to add."

Bangalore-headquartered India's second largest software exporter operates in nine cities of India apart from its global presence.

Pai said of the total 41,600 seat capacity of the company in India, around 16,000 are in Bangalore. Only 2,500 of the total 16,500 seats added in recent times have gone to Bangalore, where it began operations in a humble way in 1981.

"When the capacity is increased to 58,000 seats, may be 18,000 will be in Bangalore," he added.

"In the last 4-5 years, the share of Bangalore has been coming down. We are growing faster in other centres," he said.

The global technology services firm's executives said improvement in road and traffic management has not kept pace with the city's rapid development on the industrial front.

"People want lesser travel time."

According to Pai, because of traffic problems on Hosur Road, the company is not in a position to expand at its current location. "We have to go elsewhere. But elsewhere also we don't have land to expand. Nobody has given us land."

Quoting a survey of Bangalore-based software companies, he said all the firms have said that their hiring plans for 2006-07 is significantly lower than the hiring in 2004-05.

"There is a message (in it)," he observed.

The company's Chief Executive Officer, President and Managing Director Nandan M Nilekani noted that the company is adding 21,200 people during the current financial year, adding, it needed space to train and locate them.

"We will build capacity where we can quickly do that where there is infrastructure. Matter (Infrastructure) is outside our hands. We have to grow and we will grow where the path is of least resistance," Nilekani said.