NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Indian software bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd. said Thursday it will invest $20 million to set up a consulting unit in the United States that will create 500 jobs.

In an attempt to offset anti-outsourcing sentiment, the new company, Infosys Consulting Inc., will hire 75 experienced consultants in the first year with plans to hire as many as 500 people in the next 3 years, Infosys Technologies said in a statement.

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"By taking this initiative, we are creating jobs in the U.S. That should help us counter some of the anti-outsourcing sentiment out there," Kris Gopalakrishnan, chairman of Infosys Consulting, told reporters.

The practice of "offshore outsourcing" by major American corporations has stirred up anger from labor unions and politicians in the last few years and has become a contentious issue in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Infosys Consulting said it has begun hiring top consultants from some of the leading U.S. consulting firms.

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The Fremont, Calif.-based subsidiary said it will continue to hire "aggressively" in the next few years. "We are assembling a dream team of top consultants from all the major [U.S. consulting] firms," said Gopalakrishnan.

Infosys also has plans to open consulting offices in other countries, but no time frame has been set, a spokesperson told CNN/Money.

Indian companies often open offices in the United States, but mostly for marketing and business development purposes, and they have created very few jobs.

Bangalore, Indian-based Infosys Technologies (INFY: Research, Estimates) is the second largest software company in India by market value, and the company has grown from 12,000 to 23,000 employees in the last 4 years.