Infosys is pursuing 15 mega IT deals — each worth more than $100 million — some of which it expects to clos within next eight to ten months.

“We have 15 opportunities, but it may take 8-10 months,” Infosys CEO & Managing Director S Gopalkrishnan said here on Tuesday.

The company, often criticised for ignoring Indian market so far, has now turned its attention towards markets in India and China anticipating steep economic growth.

“In the next five years, we are expecting India to contribute more than five per cent towards our revenue, which will be significant,” he said. At the moment Indian market accounts for only three per cent of Infosys revenue while the US market contributes 60 per cent.

The size of the domestic market is also small compared to the USA and Europe. “The potential for European IT spend is $186 billion whereas Indian spent varies between $5 and $6 billion,” said Senior Vice President B G Srinivas.

To hire more people

The IT biggie, which intends to finish this fiscal with 35 per cent growth, has already recruited 18,000 young to-be graduate engineers for the next financial year. In 2007-08, Infosys is expected to hire 30,000 people.

Despite hiking its billing by two per cent in recent months, Mr Gopalkrishnan said India was still the best option for global corporations for cost-effective delivery of IT services.