Global tech giant Cisco on May 10 announced it will start manufacturing in India as it looks to expand its footprint in the country. With this investment, Cisco will cater to the growing demand from customers in India and aims to drive more than $1 billion in combined domestic production and exports in the coming years, it said in a statement.

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In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Cisco Chair and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said the firm has decided to set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu's Chennai. He hopes to have the manufacturing facility in Chennai up and running in 12 months.

“We are going to start with manufacturing a couple of our high volume products and then we will expand the product portfolio from there,” he said, adding that the company expects to have its first products rolling off in about 12 months or so.

Robbins believes that for the next decade, India is the biggest growth opportunity that it has as a company and so India will be one of the firm's biggest investment areas over the next decade.

He also suggested that India could contribute to almost 10 percent of the tech firm’s revenue over the next few years.

As Cisco looks to invest in skill and capacity, the CEO said, “Between direct and indirect employees – R&D, operations etc - we are in the mid-30,000s. We're investing in skills and capacity. We've trained over a million Indians with Network Academy, we've got a commitment for 5,00,000 cybersecurity specialists in the next 24 months.”

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He added that the firm has also had talks with government officials about investing in R&D and emerging technology areas like 6G.

In its statement, the firm said this move is a part of its strategy to create a more diverse and resilient global supply chain and support India’s vision of becoming a global manufacturing hub. "Fueled by a rapidly developing digital economy, India is a focal point of innovation and business for Cisco, and we remain deeply committed to our partnerships here,” the CEO said in a statement released by the company.

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First Published:May 10, 2023 2:50 PM IST