Cisco plans to set up manufacturing unit in India

NEW DELHI: Networking solutions giant Cisco is planning to set up a manufacturing facility in India and evaluating various sops offered by the government to promote the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing sector, Parliament was informed today.

Besides, the government has so far received proposals from seven companies from the US and Japan or their subsidiaries for investment in the country under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS), Minister for Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"Several companies, including Cisco are evaluating the various incentives offered by the government for investments in the Electronic System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) sector," Prasad informed the House.

At present, the over $47 billion US-based firm has its largest research and development (R&D) facility outside the US in India. But, it does not have any manufacturing facility in the country.

Cisco, which manufactures wireless access points or modems, has various manufacturing facilities across the globe.

When contacted, a Cisco spokesperson said: "Cisco believes that the government and industry should work together to remove roadblocks and provide enablers so that India can become a leader in manufacturing."

The spokesperson further added: "Although we have nothing to announce, companies that manufacture on a global scale will always seek to manufacture for the right reasons."

"Cisco believes that India's world-class engineering talent, along with consistent tax policies and market access, can help the country accelerate its journey towards becoming a manufacturing hub," the spokesperson said.

Prasad added that 60 companies have evinced interest towards investment under the M-SIPS in electronic hardware manufacturing so far and this does not include Cisco.