New Delhi : Telecom gearmaker Ericsson announced setting up of a new unit — Industry and Society — which will focus on smart cities, the Digital India campaign and other technology projects from the government.
It’s expected to account for 20 per cent of the group’s overall business from India.
“We are looking for a fifth of our business to come from our Industry and Society vertical by 2020,” Ericsson India V-P and head of Engagement Practices Nishant Batra said.
The government has clubbed all its digital programmes under Digital India with an estimated Rs 1.13 lakh crore projects initially. It has also approved a plan for building 100 smart cities in India with an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore. “With the government becoming a significant buyer, there is a massive opportunity for the industry. This is something the telecom sector in India is seeing for the first time. We are seeing a lot of interest in utilities and public safety from different state governments,” Batra said. Ericsson has registered its highest-ever sales growth of 81 per cent in India during the three months to September, driven by higher investments in mobile broadband service.
