Mumbai: India can stretch the offshoring industry further to tap the $750 billion-a-year global engineering services industry. The country, which enjoys a strong position in the automotive and high-tech telecom engineering services market with expected earnings of $25 billion by 2020, can nearly double it, according to a latest industry report.

The study was jointly conducted by NASSCOM and Booz Allen.

"The demand for engineering talent is growing, and emerging market countries such as India will play a vital role in expanding capacity," said Kevin Dehoff of Booz Allen. "Companies will increasingly create competitive advantage by accessing and building core innovation capabilities in a world-class global network," he said in the report.

Aerospace offers the greatest potential for expansion, though it is one of the toughest opportunities to tap because of its close association with the defence sector, the report pointed out.

Engineering services are a $40 billion opportunity for India by 2020, but to achieve that there is need to create 2,50,000 jobs for Indian engineers and also chalk out a roadmap for stakeholders to achieve this, said Harsh Gupta, director, Centre for Design and Research, Pentair. To capture that market, what is needed is a brand name for Indian services, same on the lines of software, he added.

"The total offshore engineering spend is expected to grow to $150-$225 billion by the year 2020, and India with its talent pool and existing experience in engineering services, is well suited to realise 25 per cent of this opportunity," said Kiran Karnik, president, NASSCOM.

"Companies in India have developed capabilities and skill sets, and invested in technology platforms to leverage this opportunity. The growth in engineering services signifies the need for global corporations to expand their R&D pool beyond their home countries," Mr Karnik said in the report.

Engineering services offshoring presents a tremendous opportunity. It will not only generate significant revenues but will also place India on the global innovation map, industry experts said in the report. They, however, emphasised the need for training and retaining talent, which is critical to the county maintaining its current advantage.

High-tech and telecom are the dominant and fastest growing sectors, with 30 per cent of the market. And, with traditional engineering powerhouses - USA, Germany and Japan - having a lead in engineering spend, the report also called for greater support from the government to realise this opportunity.