"Over the last five years, the ITC has filed over 60 patents of which three have been granted," Jindal told media persons on Tuesday. This year, the centre sent about 20 patents to the parent company of which eight have been cleared for filing with the US Patent office.

The company's proposed new campus, construction work on which has already started, would be operational in the next one and a half years.

"The $30-million (about Rs 150 crore) expansion plan will see an addition of 1,000 professional over the next three to five years," he said.

The centre currently houses 1,600 professional, representing 25 per cent of the company's global research and development base.