PeopleSoft already employs 360 engineers at its development centre in India's technology hub of Bangalore.

"Our accelerated ramp-up plan... is in direct response to the high quality (and) rapid output we are seeing from our centers in India and customer demand for high-quality offshore implementation services," said Ram Gupta, executive vice president for products and technology.

"This is also a reflection of the increased market opportunity that we see for PeopleSoft in India, as one of our fastest growing markets worldwide," Gupta said.

PeopleSoft is the world's second largest provider of enterprise application software, used to manage finances or other company resources, with 12,100 customers in more than 150 countries.

India, the "back-office" of the world, is riding a wave of outsourcing from foreign banks, airlines, financial institutions and media amid protests of job losses in the United States and European nations.

Last week Reuters joined companies such as banks HSBC and Lloyds TSB, telecoms groups BT and AT and T, insurers Aviva and Prudential, and research firm Ernst and Young which have brought jobs to India where computer-literate, English-speaking workers earn a fraction of their Western counterparts.

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