The Rs 13,000-crore consultancy industry will face skilled manpower crunch, as it will create a capacity of over 220,000 top management consultants by 2010, found a study by Elixir web solutions on recruitment process outsourcing. The shortage is estimated to be around 10-12 per cent of the demand.

The industry is growing at a rate of 20 per cent per annum and within it the Information Technology consulting sector is growing faster at 30 per cent per annum.

Growth of this sector marks the maturing of the domestic market of the country, say experts. "Consultancy services get deployed in any industry depending upon the maturity curve of the market. Indian domestic markets have definitely matured and improved efficiency, production and quality need external assistance in terms of strategy making both at macro as well as micro level," said Mahesh Punia, managing director, Livebean consulting.

Various factors like international expansion of businesses, managing currency risks, cash repatriation, taxes and transfer pricing, outsourcing and others are contributing to the growth of this sector, states the study.

According to the study, sectors that are supported by consultancy and in turn fuel its growth include asset management, automotive, banking, IT, real estate, telecommunication, Oil and Gas and others.

Aditi Bose, practice lead, Elixir Web Solutions, said: "As a recruitment outsourcing agency, we face challenges in finding a skilled consultant in relatively newer areas like real estate or travel and tourism. Head hunting is easier in sectors like fast moving consumer goods or pharmaceuticals.