JOIN USVodafone to invest Rs 13K cr in India
Telecom service provider Vodafone has committed investments totalling Rs 13,000 crore for capacity augmentation and new business initiatives.
The investment was committed to by Vodafone Group Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao in his meeting with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in London.
The committed investment of Rs 13,000 crore includes Rs 8,000 crore for ‘Digital India’ to enhance, upgrade and expand network coverage.
It also includes Rs 4,000 crore for ‘Make in India for the World’, which involves Rs 3,000 crore to further increase capacity and upgrade its high-end technology centre and IT, and customer experience centres in Pune and Ahmedabad, and Rs 1,000 crore for setting up a tier IV data centre, Vodafone said.
“The planned capacity expansions and investments in the technology centre and the customer service centres, will create opportunities for employment and for skilling, and training India’s talent pool. Vodafone will accordingly increase its staffing levels to 15,000 employees over the next two years,” the company said.
“Finally, the investment would also include Rs 1,000 crore towards the payment bank for which Vodafone M-Pesa has received an in-principle license from RBI. This will provide further impetus to M-Pesa’s focus on financial inclusion, and accelerate India’s journey into a cashless economy,” Vodafone said.
Since starting operations in India in 2007, Vodafone has already invested over Rs 1,11,000 crore, and contributed over Rs 1,00,000 crore to the exchequer, and is the largest FDI investor in the country.
“At Vodafone, we are enthused with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’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. 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,” Colao said.
Vodafone’s India business, in addition to being the highest contributor to Vodafone Group’s service revenue growth, has the largest customer base (188 million customers), is the largest data traffic market (by volume), and the third largest contributor to Vodafone Group’s service revenues.
Dial ‘I’ for India
Vodafone commits Rs 13,000 cr investment to India
Includes priorities in Digital India and Make in India
Expansion move aimed at spurring jobs and skills
Vodafone’s India business has over 188 m customers