The Hong Kong-based telecom major Hutchison Whampoa is moving its global call centre requirements for its 3G network to India.

The company has floated a wholly owned subsidiary in Indian called Hutchison Tele Services India Pvt Ltd for this.

The company has set up a 500-seat call centre in Mumbai and is currently handling Hutchison's call centre requirements for its 3G network in the UK and Australia.

Company sources said that the call centre has major expansion plans with the 3G network being rolled out in other parts of the globe. The move is aimed at tapping cheaper cost of operations in India.

This is Hutchison's second venture in the country. The company is offering cellular services in circles such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Karnataka through a joint venture partnership with Essar Teleholdings.

However, the call centre venture is separate from the cellular business, sources said.

The company recently brought in the initial investments for the new subsidiary through the Reserve Bank of India (automatic) route. The money was routed through a subsidiary in Mauritius, sources added.

This is among the larger call centres of telecom firms operating in the company. However, the facility, for the time being, would not service the existing business of Hutchison in India.

Hutchison's existing cellular service operations in the country are based on the 2.5G platform on the global system for mobile communication technology.

The company has so far invested a cumulative Rs 5,000 crore on its different telecom businesses in India, a bulk of which has gone into its mobile services operations.