New Delhi March 19 (KNN) Cisco Chairman John Chambers met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital on Friday after which it announced a planned series of strategic investments in India. The investment will be of over US $100 million including US $40 million to fund early-stage and growth-stage companies in the country and train 250,000 students in India by 2020.

Supporting the next phase of the country's digitization plans, Cisco will collaborate closely with state governments in India on strategic initiatives including the addition of 6 new innovation labs, 3 centres of expertise, funded university collaborations and skills investments.

Cisco made this announcement in the presence of John Chambers, Executive Chairman, Cisco; Irving Tan, President, Cisco Asia Pacific & Japan; and Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and SAARC. The new activities form part of Cisco's global ‘Country Digitization Acceleration' or CDA program, whereby select countries across the world receive major strategic investment to accelerate existing government goals for driving economic growth through high-tech innovation.

John Chambers, Executive Chairman, Cisco said, “Digitization goes beyond connectivity. The impact of digitization is far-reaching, helping countries maintain global competitiveness, foster innovation and create jobs. Education and Internet are two equalizers in life. With our increased investments in education and innovation, we are harnessing the power of technology to launch a generation of problem solvers who will innovate like technologists, think like entrepreneurs and act as social change agents.

Irving Tan, President, Cisco Asia Pacific & Japan, said,”Innovation is an interdisciplinary exercise. No one organization can address the challenges of digitization on its own. Today’s announcement demonstrates Cisco’s ability to bring together customers, partners, startups and an entire ecosystem to work together to build businesses of tomorrow and innovate to help shape India’s success.”

Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India and SAARC, said, “We are thrilled that India has been chosen for Cisco’s global country digitization acceleration program. India’s digital transformation will grow the economy faster, will provide employment & inclusion, will enable innovation opportunities; and help deliver affordable citizen services to become more competitive on the global stage. Today's announcements underscore India's strategic importance to Cisco's global operations particularly as an innovator in the next wave of the Internet's development. We believe Cisco with its full breadth of technology, and leadership in digitization can impact the lives of 1.25 billion Indians in a meaningful way.” (KNN Bureau)