Vodafone is betting big on the Indian telecommunications market. In a meeting with Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiin in London, Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao pledged to invest nearly $2 billion for capacity augmentation and other “Digital India” initiatives.
“At Vodafone, we are enthused with the PM’s vision for ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India.’ Vodafone India serves over 188 million citizens, of which almost 100 million are from rural areas,” Colao said. “As the co-creator of the telecom ecosystem, a catalyst of the telecom revolution in India and being committed for the long term, we are ideally poised to partner the Government of India in fulfilling these important initiatives. We are pleased to announce our enhanced commitment to India through this series of significant further investments.”
In addition to the capacity expansion, the money is targeted to build high-end technology and customer service centers to help bring new skills to India’s already rich talent pool.Vodafone plans to increase its staff to around 15,000 employees in the next two years. The British telecom operator is India’s second-largest carrier and is the largest foreign direct investor in the country. Vodafone India has the largest customer base of all of the subsidiaries in Vodafone Group. It also has the largest volume of data traffic and is the group’s third-largest revenue producer.
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The latest deal is part of 20 separate agreements between India and the United Kingdom to encourage “joint training and experience sharing.”
“I am pleased that British industry, supported by its government, is responding enthusiastically to our call for ‘Make in India.” U.K. has been one of our strongest economic partners and a leading investor in India. U.K. is known for its strength in technology and innovation,” Indian Prime Minister Modi said of the agreement. “India offers vast opportunities through its markets, skilled human resources, competitive economic environment and location.”
Earlier this week, Vodafone announced its Indian branch posted a 6.3% increase in organic serve revenue.