Bangalore: The John F. Welch Technology Centre of General Electric (GE) in India's IT hub plans to hire women scientists and engineers keen to get back to work after a career break, the company said.

Under the novel programme named Restart, the research centre has received about 600 applications for fresh interviews and selection process, the centre said in a statement issued here late Thursday.

"We have chosen the Bangalore technology centre to roll out the on-ramping programme to exclusively hire women scientists and engineers ready to work after a break," GE global research head K. Murali said.

Acknowledging the need for flexible working hours to suit women employees with a family to look after at home and maternity programmes, the company began offering post-maternity flex policies, built a mother-to-be relaxation room and a lactation room for new mothers.

"Our commitment to working mothers has been highlighted in the 'Working Mother' magazine published from the US. We have introduced flexible work arrangement policies to our women employees," Murali said.

"Restart is an important part of our diversity initiatives, supported by women technologists like Kshira Muthanna, who took a 14-year hiatus, raised two daughters and earned a PhD. Though she joined GE eight years ago, we helped her get back on track," Murali pointed out.

Kshira is back at work as manager at the material systems technologies lab in the centre.

As GE's first and largest integrated, multi-disciplinary research and development centre outside the US, the $20 million facility is one of its four hubs worldwide for technology, research and innovation.

About 3,800 scientists, researchers and engineers work in virtual teams with their counterparts worldwide, in diverse areas such as electromagnetic analytics, composite material design, colour technology, additive technology, non-destructive evaluation, corrosion technology, molecular modelling, power electronics, computational fluid dynamics and engineering analysis.