Hoekstra told The Financial Express that PSC, the only dedicated software development centre owned by Philips Electronics, was in the process of expanding its facility. PSC is opening its fourth office here on October 1. Although it would have a capacity to accommodate 465 personnel, to start with it would have a strength of 250, he said.

By October 2000, PSC plans to set up an office facility called Philips Towers situated at the Raheja's ``Millennium'' on Murphy Road, near Ulsoor Lake. "We do not want to go out of the city nor do we want to bescattered in the city. By October next year, we will have a single, huge office of 160,000 sq.ft. coming up in the heart of Bangalore."

With the introduction of a centralised operation facility, PSC would be able to save 10 per cent of its turnover that is currently spent towards rentals, leasing charges and other expenses, he said.

On Wednesday, PSC signed a 10-year lease contract with the Raheja Group. "With a view to achieving maximum excellence, we are working towards achieving SEI CMM Level 5 certification by the end of calendar 2000," he said. Hoekstra said the software content in consumer electronics products had increased significantly in recent years. The demand was for new and effective software technologies, he added. "We feel that India has better brains and infrastructure to develop high quality software for consumer electronics goods," he said.