Telecom network operator Vodafone today committed investments of Rs 13,000 crore or £1.3 billion for enhancing capacity and new business initiatives in India.
This significant investment of $2 billion was committed to by Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao in his meeting with the India Prime Minister Narendra Modi in London earlier today.
Since starting operations in India in 2007, Vodafone has already invested over Rs 111,000 crore and contributed over Rs 100,000 crore to the exchequer and is the largest FDI investor in India.
Vodafone India has 188 million subscribers. Out of this, it has 100 million mobile users in India’s rural markets.
Vodafone’s India business is the largest data traffic market by volume and the third largest contributor to Vodafone Group’s service revenues.
HOW VODAFONE WANTS TO SPEND FUNDS
# Rs 8,000 crore for network coverage expansion and upgrade
# Rs 4,000 crore for Make in India program
# Rs 3,000 crore to expand IT and customer experience centers
# Rs 1,000 crore for data center
# Rs 1,000 crore for mobile banking
“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 such as Digital India and Make in India,” Colao said.
Vodafone will be investing Rs 8,000 crore or £800 million to enhance, upgrade and expand network coverage as part of Digital India program.
In addition, Vodafone will be making an investment of Rs 4,000 crore or £400 million towards Make in India program.
The telecom network operator will also spending Rs 3,000 crore or £300 million to increase capacity and upgrade its technology centre and IT and customer experience centers in Pune and Ahmedabad. These centres service Vodafone companies globally.
Vodafone will invest Rs 1,000 crore or £100 million for setting up Tier-4 data center addressing the communications needs of businesses and enterprises.
Rs 1000 crore or £100 million will be invested towards the payment bank. Vodafone M-Pesa has received an in-principle license from RBI.
Vodafone will increase its employee base to 15,000 over the next two years.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
