Mumbai: Infosys will more than double investment in training to Rs1,600 crore as it ramps up seating capacity and adds to its talent pool amidst a general shortage of manpower in the industry.

The Nasdaq-listed computer services major topped the 2006-07 hiring chart with 30,946 employees amidst a scramble for talent in the industry.

"We aim at hiring 24,500 for this year (gross number without attrition)," said the Bangalore-based firm''s HRD head T V Mohandas Pai.

Infosys, which expects $4 billion in revenues this fiscal, is banking on a renewed focus on training to support its future growth. The company is making substantial investments to create a scalable training engine at its sprawling global education hub in Mysore.

"Our total investment (in training) will be around Rs1,600 crore when completed this year", Pai said.

Infosys currently can train 4,500 at a time and has invested Rs600 crore ($140 million) on training last year.

"The Mysore hub will have training centres to train about 13,500 people in a single sitting, 400 faculty cabins, 10,000 residential rooms and other facilities," Pai said.

Pai denied any dearth of talent at Infosys, India''s second largest software exporter.

He said manpower shortage is not going to be a major constraint for growth for top Indian IT companies provided they have large training establishments. The problem is finding the right talent, he said.

"They need to be trained and require a lot of investment in training," he added."