By Haripriya Suresh

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Taiwan's Delta Electronics said on Monday it plans to almost double its workforce in India over the next five years, including by setting up its largest research centre in the country whose role in the global tech industry has been rising.

The company, which supplies power components to other companies, opened the R&D centre in the southern city of Bengaluru and said it plans to add 3,000 employees in five years, up from about 3,500 currently.

Delta Electronics, which now has three R&D centres in India, also said it would shift its local headquarters to Bengaluru from the northern hub of Gurgaon to move closer to its manufacturing sites in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

Bengaluru, also called the Silicon Valley of India, has long been home to major tech companies, which makes attracting talent easier.

"We consider Bengaluru the right place for us to attract more talents and also for our future developments," Benjamin Lin, the president of Delta Electronics India, said at an event in the city.

The new R&D centre is a part of the company's plan to invest $500 million in India. While that was announced in 2015-16, the execution was delayed partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overseas firms have opened 118 global capability centres (GCCs) in India over the past two years, taking their total to more than 1,620, according to industry body Nasscom's data, as the country evolves from a low-cost back office location to a high-value innovation hub.

GCCs are expected to contribute about 2% to India's GDP by 2030, up from less than 1% at present, per ICICI Securities.

(Reporting by Haripriya Suresh and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)