Cisco to step up India headcount to 10,000 by 2010

NEW DELHI: Networking major Cisco is well on track on its $1.1-billion investment plans announced in 2005 and on tripling its headcount in the country, chairman and CEO John Chambers said on Monday. Cisco plans to increase its India employee base to 10,000 by 2010.Speaking about the $1.1-billion investment in India, Mr Chambers said, “We’re very much on target. It’s very likely that we would exceed the 10,000-people target.” Mr Chambers met prime minister Manmohan Singh and commerce minister Kamal Nath on Monday.

Cisco’s $1.1-billion investment in India includes a $750-million investment in R&D activities, training and development by 2008. It’s also earmarked $150-million for a fund to be deployed by Cisco Systems Capital, $100-million for venture capital investments in India, $50 million for a new campus in Bangalore and $100-million for customer support operations. The 3,000-seat Bangalore campus, called the Globalisation Centre East, will be inaugurated on Tuesday by Mr Chambers.

Cisco currently has 3,200 employees in India, of which 3,000 are engaged in R&D. The company has also set a target of developing 20% of its top leadership team in India by 2012. “We are using India as a platform for globalisation. We want 20% of top talent in every function here by 2012. There’s an educated talent pool, a culture of partnering and opportunities to create disruptive business models in India,” said Mr Chambers.