IT contractors and freelancers may find that there will soon be job opportunities in India, after the country's government approved the establishment of 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIIT) under a public private partnership model.

The project, which is due to start in the financial year 2011 to 2012, will begin by setting up between five and ten IIITs, which are expected to meet their own operating expenditures within five years of commencement.

As these institutes will be looking for expertise, IT contractors could increasingly be called upon to provide teaching instruction in India over the next few years.

"The new IIITs will produce world-class high quality technical personnel, which will generate manpower for emerging industries, science departments and laboratories," said the Indian government in a statement.

It follows news that IBM in India has been given two awards for workplace diversity by Nasscom, the Indian professional body for the software industry.