HYDERABAD, March 26 (Reuters) - Wipro GE Healthcare, a

joint venture of India's Wipro Enterprises and a wholly owned

entity of U.S.-based GE Healthcare ( GEHC ), said it would

invest 80 billion rupees ($960 million) in the country in its

manufacturing and research and development facilities.

Bengaluru-based medical technology company Wipro GE

Healthcare said on Tuesday the investment would be done over the

next five years to boost local manufacturing as it focuses on

growing its footprint in the country in line with the

government's "Make in India" initiative.

As part of the investment, the company will manufacture its

PET CT diagnostic scan devices in India for export to 15

countries, it said.

A PET CT (positron emission tomography and computed

tomography) scan, used in the treatment of illnesses such as

cancer, is a combination of imaging methods to understand the

functioning of the body up to the cellular level.

Wipro GE Healthcare's other high-end medical technology

devices such as its CT scanners and MR breast coils will also be

manufactured in India, the company said in a statement.

"As India envisions to be among the top five global

manufacturing hubs in terms of value and technology for medical

devices in the coming years, we are committed to the national

healthcare agenda," Wipro GE Healthcare Managing Director

Chaitanya Sarawate said.

The company, established in 1990, started a greenfield

manufacturing unit in 2022 in the southern Indian city of

Bengaluru as part of the government's production-linked

incentive scheme.

The scheme is a financial incentive for companies to

encourage local investments and manufacturing.

The company, which has four manufacturing plants in

Bengaluru, also known as India's Silicon Valley, focusing on

export services, said it would continue to invest in India and

expand its global footprint.

($1 = 83.3400 Indian rupees)