India Faces a Homegrown Staffing Issue: Not Enough Talent

NEW DELHI -- India's flagship technology and outsourcing sector is expected to add about 300,000 employees this year, bringing the industry's professional work force to some 2.3 million.

Their traditional source of recruits -- elite colleges in urban centers -- can't meet that demand. So in search of new talent, Infosys Technologies Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and a host of smaller tech companies are extending their reach into India's small cities and rural communities to search for candidates.

They say the new drive is crucial if they are to continue the torrid growth rates of the past decade. But it also ...