Cisco to invest another $50 mn in India

Cisco to invest another $50 mn in India

NEW Delhi, JAN 17: Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc announced on Wednesday $50 million in fresh investments in India as well as a plan to multiply staff in the nation it described as a potential world number one in software.

India, which began liberalising its economy in 1991, has a telephone density of less than three per 100 people, compared with a world average of more than 14. Using private firms, it aims to increase the density to seven by 2005.

Cisco, like most Silicon Valley firms in software, had 25percent of its workforce with an Indian background, he said. Emerging software applications to enable work over the Internet could be made by Indian companies, he added. Chambers said Cisco hoped to consider acquisitions in India and planned to make venture capital investments in Indian startups with the idea of acquiring them. "I'd Prefer to acquire in India where we already have development centres," he said.

Cisco predicts a worldwide shortage of two million networking professionals by 2005 and announced this week a plan to fund a chain of networking schools in India.