NEW DELHI (AP) — Consulting firm Accenture Ltd. said yesterday it plans to increase the number of its management consultants in India to 2,000 in the next 16 months.The Bermuda-based company, which currently has 500 management consultants in India, expects strong growth across most industry sectors in the country, Mark Foster, Accenture’s group chief executive of business consulting and integrated markets, told reporters.

“India has a talented work force with strong intellectual and research and development capabilities that can benefit Accenture clients around the globe,” Foster said.

The objective, he said, was to help Indian companies go overseas and a greater number of multinationals come to India.

Accenture has been operating in India, a major destination for global outsourcing, since 1987.

On Monday, Accenture announced its plans to nearly double the number of management consultants globally in the next three years from the current 13,000 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, China and Brazil.