The Indian IT industry will add over 2.25 lakh employees in 2011 and will clock revenues of USD 71.7 billion by the end of the year, consulting firm Deloitte has said.

Revenues from the information technology and business process outsourcing industry will reach USD 71.7 billion for 2011 and account for 5.8 per cent of the country's GDP, the firm said in its Technology, Media and Telecommunications Predictions for 2011.

The total number of employees working in the IT/ITeS (IT enabled services) sector will grow to 22.3 lakh this year, which translates into the addition of 2.26 lakh personnel, it said, adding that an additional 80 lakh people will get employment indirectly from the sector.

The Deloitte prediction follows a spate of announcements by IT majors like Infosys and TCS, among others, of stepping up recruitment in the current season as the global economy is going into a recovery mode.

Deloitte expects a higher growth in revenues from European and Asian markets compared to the traditional North American market this year.

It also added that the under-penetrated SME (small and medium enterprises) space will emerge as a "significant opportunity" in 2011.

Of the total USD 71.7 billion, up to USD 60 billion will come from the core software and services vertical, while exports from this segment will grow up to 17 per cent to USD 47 billion, the report said.