Infosys to invest Rs 1250 cr in AP campus

IT bellwether Infosys Technologies today signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up a 550-acre campus, its second in Hyderabad. It could possibly be the largest Infosys campus across the globe.

Infosys plans to invest Rs 1,250 crore over the next 10 years for the new campus with a potential to generate employment for 25,000 people.

The company will be investing Rs 450 crore in the first phase and Rs 400 crore in the second and third phases. The Andhra government has allotted the land to Infosys at Rs 12 lakh an acre. Land of around 150 acres has already been identified and the rest would be identified in the future.

The Bangalore-based company with an employee base of over 49,000 already has around 5,200 people positioned in Hyderabad.

According to Mohandas Pai, chief financial officer and director, Infosys has already invested Rs 275 crore at the existing campus in Hyderabad and will be putting in another Rs 225 crore to add 4,000 seats by December this year.

"In 12 months, we have achieved software exports worth around Rs 852 crore from this campus. When the existing campus comes to its full capacity of 9,000-odd people, it will have the potential to generate exports worth Rs 2,000 crore," Pai added.

"We request the chief minister to plan an IT city, with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore, where 2,00,000 professionals could be employed and exports worth $5 billion could be generated. An area planning authority to plan such a city, should be formed," he added.

Infosys allots Rs 1.5 cr for social cause

Chief mentor and chairman of Infosys N R Narayana Murthy stated at a press conference that the company will be initiating a pilot project to make around 100 disadvantaged students market-worthy.

"We will be providing around Rs 1.5 crore for this project and will be working with the ministry of social justice and empowerment to train such individuals," he added.

With regard to the reports that Karnataka government's in-principle approval for allotting more than 800 acres to the company, Murthy said they have not been allotted the land yet.

However, he added, that some progress on this front is expected. Murthy declined to comment if Citigroup is exiting from their BPO arm, Progeon.