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INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 18, 2017) – Governor Eric J. Holcomb will depart next week on an international trade mission to India, working to advance Indiana’s global economy by strengthening cultural and economic partnerships between Indiana and India.
“With recent, large job commitments from India-based companies, we are building even greater momentum to send more Hoosier-made goods to India and recruit more Indian businesses to grow here in Indiana,” Governor Holcomb said. “I’ll remain focused on taking our state to the world and bringing the world back to our Hoosier communities.”
Indiana is already home to more than 800 foreign-owned business establishments, and, according to the government of India, the U.S. is one of the top five destinations for investment from India. Indian companies have invested more than $11 billion in the U.S. economy, creating and sustaining more than 52,000 jobs across 35 states. Indiana in particular is home to at least nine India-based corporations, specializing in tech, life sciences and manufacturing.
Departing Friday, Oct. 27, and returning to Indiana on Friday, Nov. 3, Governor Holcomb, First Lady Janet Holcomb and Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger will travel to Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore and Pune to meet with government officials, business prospects and representatives of foreign chambers, including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, to discuss opportunities to advance mutually-beneficial business and workforce development initiatives. The governor will also meet with executives of Indian companies like Infosys with operations in Indiana and with executives of Indiana-based companies like Cummins that support global operations in India.
Indiana and India share a number of economic, educational and cultural ties, and that trend continues to grow. Indiana exports to India, for example, have increased 117 percent since 2006, totaling $266.6 million in 2016, while India-based companies have made significant job creation plans in recent years. In March, Infosys announced plans to establish a tech and innovation hub in Indiana, creating up to 2,000 high-skilled jobs. And in 2015, Appirio, a Wipro Company, announced plans to designate Indianapolis as its corporate headquarters and grow its headcount from 150 to 577 associates by the end of 2020. The global cloud services provider was acquired by Bangalore-based Wipro in November 2016 and maintains its growing headquarters in Indianapolis.
Additionally, many of Indiana’s higher education institutes share ties to India with more than 3,600 Indian undergraduate, graduate and professional students studying at Indiana University and Purdue University alone last year. Purdue University is also home to the largest enrollment of Indian undergraduate students of any U.S. college or university, with 881 students in the fall of 2016.
More information on Indiana’s ties to India is available here. In addition to the state delegation, the governor will be joined by Dr. Raj Acharya, dean of the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University; Raju Chinthala, founder and president of the Indiana India Business Council; Mike Langellier, president and CEO of TechPoint; and Roger Reeves, director of strategic accounts at Genesys.
This marks Governor Holcomb’s third international trade mission as governor, having visited Europe in June and traveling to Japan – the state’s largest foreign investor – in September. The cost of the state delegation is being covered through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation.
About IEDC
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) leads the state of Indiana’s economic development efforts, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the state. Governed by a 15-member board chaired by Governor Eric J. Holcomb, the IEDC manages many initiatives, including performance-based tax credits, workforce training grants, innovation and entrepreneurship resources, public infrastructure assistance, and talent attraction and retention efforts. For more information about the IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.
