Bullish on digital drive, EMC to double India sales by FY18

Bullish on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's Digital India and smart cities initiatives, storage solutions provider EMC today said it plans to double its India sales by 2017-18.
"He (Modi) really has a digital agenda and that focus is going to provide us with a lot of opportunities. Our business in India over next two-three years will double. We will also double our sales," EMC Corp Senior Vice President and President, Asia Pacific and Japan David Webster told PTI.
The India revenue of the US-based firm stood at Rs 1,847 crore in 2012-13.
EMC is in talks with the Indian government to "bring value" in its initiatives.

"Aadhar card is a ready example of IT-driven initiative. We are going to see other projects like that, which are aimed at delivering better value to Indian people. Smart cities, digital India drive are all going to be similar projects," Webster said.
The Indian government is undertaking various initiatives under its Digital India programme, which aims to use technology to deliver services to citizens and connect rural regions and remote villages with high-speed internet services.

Under the smart cities initiative, the government aims to set up 100 cities by 2022, where technology will play a crucial role in deployment of services like education, healthcare, utilities and surveillance among others.

Ministry of Finance, in the Budget 2015-16, has allocated Rs 7,060 crore for developing these smart cities.
"As the Prime Minister says that we are going to move to digital, he has a workforce that can be harnessed. That's the potential in India," Webster added.
The government sector contributes about 20-25 per cent of EMC's revenue in India.
The technology major has presence in leading government initiatives including Aadhar and city surveillance projects.
Webster further added, "IT holds much significance for India's development as "the workforce in India in numbers of engineering and science graduates is massive.