New Delhi  - India's HCL Technologies has signed a 350-million dollar outsourcing contract with US media company Reader's Digest Association, it was announced Monday.

Among the largest deals by an Indian company in the recent months, the contract comes at a time when the Indian IT industry is struggling to secure big deals amid the global economic crisis.

"RDA partnership is unique services offering in which HCL blends all its outsourcing strengths - applications and infrastructure capabilities, industry knowledge and global reach," Sanjeev Nikore, corporate vice president of HCL, India's fifth largest IT major by sales, said in a statement.

"IT is a key enabler to our business. We expect that HCL will bring down cost of operations significantly, while improving services and bringing cutting-edge technology and capabilities to transform our IT functionality and service," said Al Peruzza, Senior Vice President for Global Operations, RDA.

Founded in 1976 and based in the New Delhi suburb of Noida, the 5-billion-dollar HCL comprises two companies listed on India bourses: HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems.

Its team comprises over 59,000 professionals in some 20 countries who work with several leading Fortune 1000 firms, including leading IT and Technology firms.

Headquartered at Pleasantville, New York, Reader's Digest Association publishes 92 magazines, including 50 editions of Reader's Digest - the world's best-selling monthly magazine.

It also operates 65 branded websites to generate 18 million unique visitors per month and sells some 68 million books, music and video products worldwide annually. (dpa)