With 'global warming' becoming a major concern the world over, the demand for green professionals in India continues to increase, as experts believe that hiring in this segment is likely to grow by up to 60 per cent this year.

"Companies are today taking steps to become environment-friendly and are hiring green professionals, who can help them reduce energy consumption. The demand for environmental professionals is expected to go up by 55-60 per cent this year, as firms are raising their spending on creating clean technology, reducing emissions and wastage and regulating use of natural resources," Elixir Consulting Executive Director Kanika Vaswani told PTI.

Green job is mainly defined as work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development, administrative and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality, she said.

An environmental professional reviews the direct and indirect impact of products on the ecology and devise strategies to protect the atmosphere, she added.

Green jobs can either be white or blue-collar in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, R&D, administration and service activities like IT and finance.

With growing demand for green buildings, the real estate sector is likely to emerge as one of the biggest recruiters of green professionals, she said.

Elixir has observed a trend of hiring environment professionals in the FMCG and retail sector as well.

Companies are offering attractive salaries to green professionals, which varies, Vaswani said adding that at middle-level, the package is usually at Rs 12 lakh and Rs 35-40 lakh at senior positions.

Echoing the view, executive search firm GlobalHunt Director Sunil Goel said the hiring of green professionals began a decade ago, but paced up 5-6 years back, when many industries faced mandatory regulations to have environment experts and green department to manage waste and hazard.

In 2012, he said, hiring will increase by 30-40 per cent for green professionals and this growth is likely to remain consistent for next five years.

"With attractive salary packages, interest towards this profession is growing constantly," he said.

Generally, these professionals are hired at all levels and get compensation between Rs 5-7 lakh, depending on experience, he pointed out.

Executive search firm Symbiosis Management Consultants CEO Vinay Grover opined that usually these professionals hold masters degree (M.Sc, M.Tech) in Environmental Engineering by IIT's, state owned universities and other couple of AICTE approved colleges as well.

People with Civil and Chemical Engineering background also become environment professionals, he said.

The power, oil and gas, chemical sectors, he said, are the traditional employers for the environmental professionals, however, with the growing concern towards the ecology, the trend is also visible in FMCG and IT.

"In India, there aren't many green professionals available in the market and seeing it as coveted career, more and more people are likely to pursue it as a career option," he said.

This year, he opined that the hiring for such professionals would see a phenomenal increase to the tune of 35-40 per cent, since the base is very low.