If you looking back at 2005, one prominent development is the fact that the country has attracted almost all global IT majors when it comes to announcing their investment plans for the region. 

From software giant Microsoft, Cisco and AMD to telecom biggies like Nokia, Samsung and LG, global IT players now eye India as not only the most attractive location from a marketing point of view, but also from the point of view of a viable manufacturing destination.

December 2005 alone saw a number of global business leaders in India praise India's technology and manpower advantage while making huge investment promises for the region. Redmond-based Microsoft's Chairman Bill Gates announced that the company would invest $1.7 billion in India over the next four years to expand its operations in various spheres.

AMD & SemIndia
Coming as a surprise to many experts pushing India towards having a manufacturing footprint, SemIndia, a consortium of overseas Indians, announced its plans to invest $3 billion in an advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility within India. This facility would be made operational in technological association from US based Advanced Micro Devices AMD Inc.

The project, a public-private partnership, is expected to take off next year and is likely to fan price drops in electronic equipment as most of the equipments contain microprocessors. 

“Once the microprocessor manufacturing starts here, it will certainly reduce the cost of the electronic gear. Products like PCs and even laptops will become cheaper; we might even see a sub $200 laptop from India. The overall ecosystem will gain form this to meet domestic and global demands of semiconductor chips for cell phones, PCs, set-top boxes and other devices that use microprocessors,” informed a confidant Vinod Agarwal, President & CEO, SemIndia Inc.

Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation will be investing $1.7 billion in India over the next four years in order to expand its operations in the region. These funds would primarily be spent in making India a major hub of Microsoft's research, product and application development, services and technical support for both global and domestic companies. To meet this growth, the company would also be expanding its workforce by hiring more than 3,000 employees over a period of three to four years within India.

“India is a fabulous country and our investment is in line with our commitment to this region. We will continue to grow in this region and expand. A lot of interesting products are being developed at our Indian operations and there are exiting times ahead,” explained Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation. 

Intel
Coming soon after AMD's India manufacturing plans - the world's largest manufacturer of computer chips, Intel Corporation announced that the company would invest more than $1 billion in the next five years to expand its operations in India and to encourage innovation in local technology companies.

To envisage this, Intel has formed a $250-million Intel India Technology Fund that would be used for venture capital investment in technology start-ups within India. "Our investment in India demonstrates the company's long-term commitments to this region and adds to our value towards creation of innovation," said, Craig Barrett, Chairman, Intel, during his recent visit to India.

Commenting on having its own manufacturing unit, he said that Intel would not opt for a model where it is just giving out the technology like in the case of AMD. “I don't have a timeline for this, but we would not be doing just the technology transfer. Intel will have its own manufacturing unit in India as and when we plan it,” he added. 

Though, Intel has not confirmed anything so far, but sources close to the government sector claim that Global chipmaker Intel is quite close towards selecting Chennai as its next chip manufacturing destination.

Cisco
Networking major Cisco's CEO John Chambers announced a $1.1 billion investment plan for India. As per this plan, $800 million would be invested in Bangalore over the next two years. The company would invest $750 million in its new R&D campus in Bangalore. 

The company is also planning to triple its existing head count from the current 1,400 by 2008. In line with other IT majors thinking towards setting manufacturing bases, John said that the company is also considering India as a manufacturing base.

What the future holds!

As more and more global companies set manufacturing bases in India, end consumers in the region will be benefited in terms of reduced prices. From personal computers to laptops and from cell phones to other electronic gear, all these devices are likely to experience further price drops. 

Experts close to the industry see this as a big opportunity for vendors to gain momentum in upcountry regions of India. With prices being dropped to a certain level – these tier three and tier four locations will offer a big opportunity for MNCs.

Moreover, having a manufacturing base within India will give global advantage to these MNCs, which are always looking for tapping big markets like India. This manufacturing race is also likely to create an electronic ecosystem for the region and help these companies meet the local as well as regional demand in a not-so-costly manner.

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