India faces IT staff shortfall: McKinsey/FT report

India's information technology industry faces a shortfall of 500,000 professionals by 2010, threatening its dominance of global offshore IT services, the Financial Times said, citing a report by business consultancy McKinsey and Nasscom, India's leading IT association.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India's information technology industry faces a shortfall of 500,000 professionals by 2010, threatening its dominance of global offshore IT services, the Financial Times said, citing a report by business consultancy McKinsey and Nasscom, India's leading IT association.

The prediction comes as multi-nationals such as Microsoft and J.P. Morgan increase their presence in the world's largest offshore services industry, adding to labour market pressures caused by a widening mismatch between the supply and demand for technology talent, the report said.

Despite the recent expansion, the report says that only a 10th of an estimated "addressable" market of US$300 billion for global offshoring is currently being tapped, the report said.

The FT said a labour shortage would pose a serious obstacle to India's ability to retain its lead in IT offshoring.