Bangalore: US-based IT services firm Apar Infotech Corporation working in the product development space plans to hire 600 professionals and invest USD five million for its Bangalore and Mumbai development centres.

"We have started hiring freshers and are ramping up by 600 engineers to 1,200. During the last 15 months, our strength has grown from 50 to 600," Apar Infotech Corporation Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Srivastava said.

The $ 62 million privately held Apar Infotech is generating business by marketing jointly with firms in Europe and the US and provide onsite work to local talent of partner companies.

This strategy of using local talent in countries where there is a general backlash on outsourcing to India, as evident in alliances with Accentron, a North Carolina- based IT firm in the US and NESS, a $ 200 million European IT company has helped the company earn goodwill from customers and business leaders, Srivastava said.

"We jointly market and tell customers that over 80 per cent of people involved in onsite work would be locals. Customers find value in this blended approach and we are finding "traction" through this," Srivastava said.

PTI