Ericsson bets on Make in India, makes Pune its hub
The company launched its new radio system for the Indian market
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-09-03 01:11 GMT
New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi's ‘Make-in-India’ campaign got another boost with Swedish telecom giant Ericsson planing to set up a new plant in the country which will export to 180 countries.
Ericsson said on Wednesday that it will be setting up its second manufacturing facility in Pune with an initial investment of about $15-20 million (around Rs 99 crore to Rs 132 crore). It already has a manufacturing plant in Jaipur but it is used mainly for domestic markets. The new facility, which will be operational around June-July next year, will be used as an export hub for the company.
Ericsson will be manufacturing telecom equipment at the plant. Ericsson president and CEO Hans Vestberg said that the company also plans to double its employee base in India over the next few years but did not divulge more details.
The company currently has about 21,000 employees in the country. The addition of staff will be for services segment which is growing at a rapid pace for the company. Ericsson also announced that it has bagged a four-year 4G network rollout contract in Delhi from Bharti Airtel. Moreover, it has signed another four-year agreement with Airtel to expand its 3G network across eight telecom circles in the country. This is Ericsson's first 4G network using LTE-FDD technology in Delhi.