Mumbai: Global software firms, including Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Cognizant Technology Solutions, Ness Technologies, Xansa, VMware Inc and Zylog Systems, are expected to hire close to 40,000 professionals in India over the the next two years, despite the US slowdown and a rising rupee, industry body Assocham said in a study.

''At the time when Indian firms seem to be curtailing the wage hikes and right-sizing the staff strength to prevent margins from shrinking, the robust headcount expansion plans of the global IT companies render a positive outlook to the job market,'' Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said in the study.

While CSC said it plans to hire close to 16,500 IT professionals in India in the next two years, Cognizant also disclosed plans to hire an additional 14,700 in India this year. Besides, UK-based Zylog Systems plans to hire more than 4,000 employees and Xansa would almost double its headcount in India to 10,000 from the current 5,200 in the next 2-3 years, Assocham said.

The Assocham study is in contrast to some recent studies that predict employment outlook in the Indian IT sector may not be robust in the coming months.

Indian software companies expect to hire an additional 4,400 for the year against the backdrop of the increase in value of the rupee against dollar, rising wage inflation and the slowdown in US economy, the Assocham study added.

The IT sector will, however, continue to be the largest provider of employment in the country, the report noted.