Peter J Arduini, the chief executive of GE HealthCare Technologies, recently visited Bangalore, India.. His previous visits were mainly to Hyderabad and Delhi during his early career at GE. Arduini left GE for around 15 years to take on other roles, including as CEO of Integra LifeSciences, before returning in 2022 to lead GE’s healthcare business spinoff.
During this Bangalore visit, Arduini was struck by the technological evolution of GE’s operations in India. He and Azim Premji, chairman of Bangalore-based Wipro Enterprises, announced a $1 billion investment plan over 5 years to increase local manufacturing through their 35-year joint venture, Wipro GE HealthCare. The goal is to serve 3 billion people globally with Indian-manufactured medical technology.
Additionally, locally produced Revolution Aspire CT, Revolution ACT and MR breast coils will be manufactured ‘In India for the World’, the company said in a statement.
The strategic investment bolsters the company’s local manufacturing footprint to address the growing domestic and international market. It will also build supply chain resiliency for the organization.
Addtionally, Wipro GE Healthcare Chairman Azim Premji said India is riding the resurgent growth in the healthcare industry and rapidly expanding MedTech sector.
“With ‘Make in India’, we are witnessing an exponential expansion of manufacturing footprint in the country, strengthening India’s capability as the MedTech hub of the world. Wipro GE Healthcare has been committed to this localization journey for over three decades and this strategic investment is testament to our vision for this sector,” added Premji.
Arduini stated they will expand equipment manufacturing in India significantly, calling it one of their top three biggest global opportunities. Beyond manufacturing, GE HealthCare plans to ramp up R&D in India. The 1,800-member multidisciplinary team in Bangalore, GE’s largest outside the US, develops sophisticated CT and molecular imaging tech. They are now expanding into digital solutions and AI.
During this visit, Arduini was accompanied by the CTO Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, signaling intent for the India team to focus more on AI. Arduini noted some of their most advanced AI modeling work happens in Bangalore.
India is emerging as a prime contender to take over from China as the world’s economic growth engine by 2028, driven by strong government support, a growing local market, geopolitical considerations such as reducing China dependence, and a youthful population. This has prompted Arduini and other tech CEOs like Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, and Lisa Su to commit to major expansions in India.
Wipro GE Healthcare Managing Director and President & CEO, GE HealthCare South Asia Chaitanya Sarawate said, “As India envisions to be among top five global manufacturing hubs in terms of value and technology for medical devices in the coming years, we are committed to the national healthcare agenda.” At present, Wipro GE Healthcare has four manufacturing plants in Bangalore.
According to Forbes, the healthcare sector sees great strategic value in the “India for India and India for the world” opportunity – serving India’s large domestic market while leveraging its engineering prowess and cost competitiveness for global markets. India’s confluence of factors make it an attractive investment destination for healthtech companies such as GE HealthCare.
