Cisco's leading the charge with over $1 billion

According to John Chambers, head of global networking giant Cisco, India is the hottest growth market in the world, which is why the company is investing over $1 billion in the country to establish a critical global operations hub there.

Cisco is opening its first manufacturing pilot facility in Chennai and tripling its workforce from 2000 to 6000, of which 95 percent will be hired locally. The Channai facility will be a strategic export hub, said Chambers, who added that, “Every country will be an export market for us in India. It will support all the emerging countries of the world.”

Initially, Cisco will manufacture phones for videoconferencing, beginning this March. The company will also spend $100 million towards venture capital investments in high-growth, emerging Indian companies. For instance, last year it invested $5 million in companies such as Indiagames and Bharti Telesoft. It is also expected to invest another $25 to $30 million in Indian companies that are involved in broadband content and digital media.

India is capturing the attention of other companies as well:

• Wal-Mart has announced that it is on course to directly source more than $600 million worth of goods this year from suppliers in India for the company's stores around the world.
  
  
• SAP AG is doubling its headcount at both its Indian operations in the next few years.
  
  
• Europe's largest independent research center in nanotechnology and nanoelectronics is bullish on joint market-driven research with Indian technology institutes and semiconductor majors.

A 2004 report by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and the Confederation of Indian Industry shows that manufactured exports from India can potentially increase to $300 billion by 2015.

India's GDP was approximately $600 billion in 2003, and is estimated to hit $1 trillion by 2010.