ITC Infotech India and PTC USA on Monday announced a 39-month outsourcing agreement worth Rs 250 crore (Rs 2.50 billion).

The contract will be serviced by ITC Infotech from a dedicated facility at its Bangalore development centre, which will be expanded for the purpose.

ITC sources said the company would create around 130 new positions to handle the contract's workload. Some recruitment has already been done and more is in the pipeline.

The deal was reportedly struck when ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar visited Boston in June but the final details were settled on Monday.

Information technology sector sources said the deal was one of the largest in the country.

"The value works out to around $54 million and given the  tenure, it will easily be one of the best deals to come to India in recent years," Roopen Roy, managing director of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said.

The contract compares favourably with the best in the sector given the short tenure. Its annualised value is around Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million).

PTC is the largest product development software company in the world with revenues of $740 million in 2002, of which $499 million came from its global software services.

ITC Infotech will provide PTC's global customers on-the-ground implementation of its software products, services and solutions, technology support and training.

Sanjay Verma, managing director of ITC Infotech, said, "ITC Infotech is delighted to have been selected by PTC as its preferred strategic services partner to support its requirements of critical services. Together we will increase market share and improve operating margins."

C Richard Harrison, PTC's president and chief executive officer, said, "When PTC's Windchill and Pro/ENGINEER solutions and services are combined with ITC Infotech's global delivery model, the outcome is a truly competitive solution of unmatched quality for our customers."