US-based Xerox's sibling business services unit, Conduent, was made a separate company earlier this year. Starting a new journey, the company says its focus on India is more than ever. The challenge is to find a way to lift its growth amid tough market.
In a first interview post appointment, Lokesh Prasad, chief executive officer of the Indian arm of $6.5 billion Conduent, told BW Businessworld that he plans to make India, a technology hub which can support all the business needs.
“We clearly see that India can reap best returns on our investments. India now occupies much important place in our global plans than ever before,” Prasad said while listing that United States and Western Europe are company’s target markets.
The company plans to grow its presence in India, specifically by growing the 10,000-employee workforce across six cities, including Bangalore, Kochi, Gurgaon, Noida, Indore and Chennai.
“We have two research labs across the globe among which, one is in India. We want to increase the participation of Indian employees in Conduent as a global company. Also, we want to leverage Indian talent in our research and development centres,” he said while not sharing the specific plans on hiring.
India continues to remain a bright spot in the otherwise bleak global economic forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Hence, many other foreign firms including Conduent are sharpening their focus on Indian market.
For instance: Recently, New York based Enstoa, the leading professional services firm that specializes in capital projects improvement, has announced that it is increasing its presence and client focus in India and Southeast Asia with a new office in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Japanese auto giant, Honda is now developing a brand new global car platform with a strong focus on India.
India will be the fastest growing major economy in 2016-17 growing at 7.5 per cent, ahead of China, at a time when global growth is facing increasing downside risks, as per the World Economic outlook released by the IMF.
