Intel to invest over one billion dollars in India

Feb 3, 2008, 16:40 GMT

New Delhi - Global chip maker Intel plans to invest more than one billion dollars in India over the next three years as it seeks partnerships with Indian and foreign hardware firms to build lightweight personal computers, news reports said Sunday.

'We have committed to spend over a billion dollars spread over the next three years plus. We are focusing on a number of new initiatives for enabling easy availability of personal computers and broadband Internet in India,' John A McClure, a senior official of Intel's Indian subsidiary, was quoted as saying by PTI news agency.

Intel is partnering with foreign and Indian computer hardware brands like ASUS Technologies, HCL, Wipro and Zenith to prepare lightweight, easy-to-use Internet platforms on personal computers (PCs), McClure said.

'From our India experience, we have learnt that mobility is particularly what even a first-time PC buyer is looking for. They want lightweight products that could run on battery for three to four hours, is easy to store and doesn't take too much space,' McClure said.

The company is also preparing to introduce Wimax wireless technology in India. 'This is the best technology to bridge the PC- broadband Internet gap in India. With three million broadband Internet subscriptions against a PC deployment of 35 million, India has the worst broadband-PC ratio in a large market,' McClure said.