An increase in jobs within the Indian IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) sector has been reported by the government.

According to a new survey, the industry saw its highest jobs growth during the quarter to March 2010, adding 690,000 new positions over the 2009-10 fiscal year.

The country's Ministry of Labour and Employment reported levels of employment in eight key sectors of the economy rose 0.16 per cent year-on-year by 1.06 million during the quarter from January.

Additionally, those people employed in BPO and IT jobs in India saw strong increases in earnings during the three months in question, rising 9.3 per cent during the period under review.

The number of individuals working as contractors expanded by 74,000 in the final quarter of the fiscal year compared with the previous three months, while the number of direct workers increased by 13,000.

France-based IT consultancy firm Capgemini recently unveiled plans to enhance its presence in India and employ an extra 4,000 people in the country.

Posted by Kate Griffin