Buoyed by PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, many foreign companies are looking to set up their manufacturing units in India. The latest to join the programme is Japan-based telecommunications and internet corporation SoftBank.
The Tokyo-based tech giant has announced to invest $10 billion in the country under the 'Make in India' programme.
"I want to support the 'Make In India' vision. If we manufacture here, the cost of logistics gets reduced. We have committed to invest USD 10 billion over the next 10 years," SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said, The Financial Express reports.
"With two times more sunshine and half the cost of construction, making solar part becomes four times more efficient in India," he added.
SoftBank's CEO and top executives met PM Modi in Delhi on Monday.
The Indian economy has scope to surpass the growth of the world's largest economy, the US, in the next 25 years, Son said.
In October last year, SoftBank had invested $627 million in domestic e-commerce major Snapdeal, acquiring 30 percent stake in the company.
It had also pumped in $100 million in real estate services provider Housing.com in November 2014. Online cab aggregator Ola also received $210 million funding from SoftBank last year.
"India is increasing in value a little bit quicker than anticipated. But this is still the beginning of the internet revolution, and I'm very happy with our family companies' progress," Son told The Economic Times.
The company has also announced to invest $20 billion in the country's renewable energy sector by partnering with India's Bharti Group and China's Foxconn.
iPhone assembler Foxconn recently said it would set up around 10 to 12 manufacturing units in India by 2020. The electronics contract manufacturer is reportedly in discussions with its top client Apple on the proposed investments in India.
Foxconn's rival Quanta Computer Inc has also said it is mulling over setting up a manufacturing base in India that will give a fillip to PM Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, which aims at making the country a global manufacturing hub, Reuters reported.
