IT industry slowdown notwithstanding, hiring to continue

Agrees Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys. "There is not any trend or anything like that," he said.

According to Gopalakrishnan, the global economic slowdown has lead to decline in outsourcing orders, affecting India's IT industry, but it is "temporary."

"We are still adding people. We will be recruiting 25,000 people," he said. "We will make our people prepared for the upturn, which will happen. We are focusing on recruiting people and training them. We are focusing on education as this is a great opportunity to make a positive brand and image for the company. We are still seeing opportunities in the market."

"The IT services industry will emerge stronger as after the crisis because the global delivery model that the industry follows, and also, the IT services industry has reached a certain scale, maturity, strength and world class practices," he added.

Agrees B. Ramalinga Raju, founder-chairman of Satyam Computer Services.

"The IT sector has always managed to lay a stronger foundation for a better future from any crisis it faces," Raju said.