Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s biggest software exporter, announced that it has reserved a capital expenditure (capex) plan of Rs 1,900 crore for the existing fiscal (2008-09).

In an announcement, the company said that the capex is 35.7% higher than the last year’s capex of Rs 14 billion.

Mr. S Mahalingam, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, TCS, stated that out of the total amount, around Rs 1,300 crore would be invested in physical infrastructure, which includes buildings and real estate whereas Rs 600 crore will be utilized for developing technology.

Mr. Mahalingam also said that the company has embarked on a plan to add up around 30,000 seats in the country that explains the higher capex spend for the year.

Regardless of the sub-prime crisis in the US, TCS sees a strong order book, with visibility of big contracts across different geographies.

N Chandrasekaran, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of TCS, said that TCS is not cutting back on its capacity enhancement initiatives.

The company will be adding seats in both tier-1 and tier-2 cities. This exercise would be undertaken in cities including Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

TCS is actively chasing about 25 large deals and so it makes sense for the company to enhance its delivery infrastructure, analysts feel.

The company’s capital expenditure needs will be largely met through internal accruals, a company representative said.

At 11:10 a.m., the shares of the company gained 0.2% to trade at Rs 997.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).