MUMBAI, INDIA: Capgemini aims to double its staff in India to 40,000 by 2010, a senior company official said on Wednesday, as the largest European computer consultancy battles the global economic crisis.

Luc-Francois Salvador, an executive board member of Capgemini group, told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Mumbai the company plans to increase its proportion of outsourcing from 38 percent now.

"There will be a strong increase in outsourcing in 2009, depending on the opportunities available," he said.
Salvador said Capgemini, which had 88,000 staff globally, had frozen hiring in some parts of Europe but would be expanding in India.

"We will further increase our size in India," he said. "India is still a strong economy with a lot of growth opportunities."

Capgemini had said in November it was confident of achieving sales growth in 2009 despite an expected economic downturn, partly by further use of offshore staff, notably in India.

Capgemini has no acquisition plans for the first half of 2009 and fraud-hit Indian outsourcer Satyam Computer Services Ltd is not on its radar for acquisition, Salvador said.

"If the second half looks like it is stronger, then we might take a position on it (acquisitions)," he said.