That India has become the preferred global hub for software development and business process outsourcing for British firms is evident from the number of companies, across various sections, shifting both low-end and high-tech jobs to the country.

Latest to join the long list of companies are online booking firm Ebookers and media giant Reuters Inc.

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Online travel agent Dinesh Dhamija said Ebookers plans to treble its support staff in India by boosting back office facilities, and hopes to hire up to 2,000 people for his New Delhi office as part of his plan to offer low cost back office facilities to other travel companies.

An ex-London representative of Royal Nepal Airways, and the son of a former Chief of Protocol at the ministry of external affairs, Dhamija is now one of the many UK businessmen to understand the value and profitability of outsourcing from India.

In an attempt to cut cost in the face of stiff competition from other media groups, specially Bloomberg, Reuters is looking at building new back office facilities in either Hyderabad or Bangalore for its core content creation services division.

Reuters' move is expected to lead to some 400 job losses in the UK, confirming industry concerns that as many as 200,000 outsourcing jobs could be lost to India in the next five years.