Bengaluru, July 21 (IANS): Infosys said on Tuesday that its innovation fund invested $1.4 million (Rs.8.9 crore) in ANSR Consulting, a global in-house centre (GICs) strategic consulting and implementation firm, for a minority stake.

"We are excited to partner with ANSR Consulting. Our investment reflects our commitment to innovative business models, which are significant to the growth India is experiencing in delivering value to clients the world over," Infosys vice-president Ritika Suri told reporters here.

The city-based consulting firm helps global firms in setting up GICs, which propel strategic service delivery and innovation capabilities.

The decade-old firm also helps companies set up joint ventures to provide strategic, technology-driven solutions for competitive advantage and incremental revenue.

"This investment, combined with our breadth of next-generation technology services, will enable us to bring more GICs into the country, help global firms advance their transformation and innovation agenda and deliver new solutions," ANSR founder and chief executive Lalit Ahuja said in a statement on the occasion.

The IT outsourcing major has set up a $500-million innovation fund early this year to invest in disruptive business models and technologies, aimed at widening its reach in the fast-growing GIC market.

Many companies are setting up GICs to harness new technologies such as social, mobile, analytics and cloud.

"India has emerged as a preferred destination for GICs due to its technical and business talent pool available at a reasonable cost," said Suri.

International oil giant Shell has recently announced its plans to set up a GIC in Bengaluru.

According a report of the IT industry representative body Nasscom, about 1,000 GICs are in India, employing 7.45 lakh people.