Inside INdiana Business is reporting Governor Eric Holcomb will next week begin an economic development trade mission to India. The governor and Indiana Secretary of Commerce Jim Schellinger will lead a group expected to meet with government officials, representatives of foreign chambers and business leaders “to discuss opportunities to advance mutually-beneficial business and workforce development initiatives.”
The group is scheduled to depart for India October 27 and return November 3. Holcomb also plans to meet with executives of Indian companies with a presence in Indiana, including Infosys (NYSE: INFY), and executives with Indiana-based companies with operations in India, such as Columbus-based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI).
“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,” Holcomb said in a news release. “I’ll remain focused on taking our state to the world and bringing the world back to our Hoosier communities.”
Indiana is home to at least nine India-based companies that specialize in tech, life sciences and manufacturing. Earlier this year, Infosys announced plans to invest nearly $9 million to locate its first American innovation hub in central Indiana, creating up to 2,000 jobs by 2021. The state’s colleges and universities also have ties to India with more than 3,600 Indian students studying at Indiana University and Purdue University alone in 2016.
The Indiana delegation to India will also include IU School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Dean Raj Acharya, Indiana India Business Council President Raju Chinthala, TechPoint Chief Executive Officer Mike Langellier and Roger Reeves, director of strategic accounts at Genesys.
The trip will be Holcomb’s third international trade mission as governor. He traveled to Europe in June and wrapped up a trip to Japan last month.