Mumbai: Patni Computer Systems Limited, India''s 6th largest IT services company today announced plans to set up its first development center in Bangalore. The proposed centre, which will be located at the Electronic City Phase II, will house 1,100 people.

The company plans to increase its presence in the south as currently its operations are concentrated in the western and northern regions. This move will enable it to attract talent from the ''Silicon Valley of India''. The company currently has multiple development facilities across 6 cities in India, at Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Noida, Gandhinagar and Chennai.

Expected to be completed in July 2004, this centre will meet the needs of Patni''s rapidly growing business requirements for providing services to GE, its $100 million customer. Additionally, the centre will offer services for clients in ''embedded technology solutions'' space currently witnessing over 100 per cent growth year-on-year, and for the company''s ''enterprise applications'' practices.

P J Kutar, resident director-India, said, "Patni has beaten the industry average with a compounded annual growth rate of 41 per cent over the last five years. Going forward, it is imperative for us to tap high quality talent to sustain this rapid growth. Our Bangalore centre will allow us to absorb and leverage on the high-quality skill sets available in the city to help achieve our business targets."

Patni is an ISO 9001:2000 certified and SEI-CMMi Level 5 organisation, assessed enterprise wide at P-CMM Level 3. In keeping with its focus on continuous process improvements, Patni adopts Six Sigma practices as an integral part of its quality and process frameworks.

Patni Computer Systems Limited (BSE: PATNI COMPUT, NSE: PATNI) is a global IT Services provider servicing ''global 2000'' clients in the manufacturing, insurance, banking and financial services, retail, hospitality, and energy and utilities industries.