India can play key role in tech development for other mkts: Cisco CEO

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins today said India can play an important role in developing technologies around areas like healthcare and education that can be deployed at scale in other developing markets like Latin America and Africa.

Speaking to PTI, Robbins said the company's India R&D unit -- which has over 6,000 engineers -- is working on the "next wave" of solutions that are powered by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain.

"We are looking at what are the next wave of initiatives that we should align to...around effectively leveraging technology to create inclusive opportunities. We are looking at creating technology or solutions that will allow us to pilot innovative, effective ways of delivering healthcare in rural areas, changing how education is delivered, digital village pilots etc," he said.

He added that technology adoption in India has grown at an "unprecedented rate" in the last few years and that Cisco is looking at taking its learnings from the Indian market to other countries.

He cited the example of its Indian client Reliance Jio, where the US-based company has helped set up an all-IP network -- one of the first in the world.

"...we are taking some of the learnings to other service providers... It's an example of how you do something here (in India) at scale...if you can build solutions that can be delivered at scale, we can take them to Africa, Latin America, to developing countries," he said.

Robbins, who is on a three-day trip to India, met IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and delegates from NITI Aayog yesterday.

"We talked about the overall Digital India strategy and the progress that has been made and the learnings that have come to light... Cisco has played a role across various areas, right from Startup India to cybersecurity to skills and smart cities," he said.