Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest Internet equipment maker, plans to invest $1.1 billion in India over the next three years, its president said on October19th, marking its largest investment outside the United States.

John Chambers said Cisco, employing 1,400 people in India now, also plans to triple its staff in India over that period, including its own staff and outsourced engineers working on research and development at other firms.

India, with its low-cost English-speaking workforce, is fast becoming an investment magnet as many of its industries grow at double-digit rates. Asia's third-largest economy expanded by an annual 8.1 percent in the first quarter to June, the fastest for more than a year.

Cisco is forecasting 30 percent annual growth in Indian revenue in the next three years, and said it will consider setting up a manufacturing plant, reinforcing its bullishness about the growth prospects of the world's 10th-largest economy.

"India has rapidly risen to become a major force in the global economy," Chambers, on a three-day visit to India, told reporters. "India may become (Cisco's) largest market in Asia."

Cisco's Indian sales have grown at a compounded 50 percent in the past two years as major clients ramped up expansion, and its new investment will help it stay on top in Indian networking.

( www.financialexpress.com)