Wipro GE Healthcare weighs new state for fifth India plant as exports target accelerates

Wipro GE Healthcare is assessing sites beyond Bengaluru for a fifth Indian factory as it expands local production, engineering and exports under an ₹8,000-crore investment plan.

Wipro GE Healthcare is weighing locations in multiple Indian states for a fifth manufacturing plant as it steps up a localisation strategy aimed at lifting domestic sales and more than doubling exports from the country by 2030. The company already operates four factories in Bengaluru, but it is now testing whether a new site elsewhere could reduce logistics costs and sit closer to its engineering base and supplier network, according to reporting by Medical Buyer.

The planned plant would form part of the company’s broader ₹8,000-crore investment programme announced in March 2024. GE HealthCare said at the time that the money would go towards manufacturing capacity and local research and development over five years, with India positioned as a core hub for both innovation and production. The company has said it wants 75 per cent of local revenue by 2030 to come from products designed and made in India, while also more than doubling exports from the country.

A fifth site has been under consideration for some time. Medical Buyer reported that the company had originally intended to expand existing Bengaluru facilities before deciding whether to build elsewhere, and that it has already examined the trade-off between adding capacity in Karnataka and moving into another state. The logic for widening the search is tied to the way Wipro GE Healthcare’s supply chain has evolved. What began as a Bengaluru-centred supplier base has since spread across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, making a new plant nearer to those clusters potentially more efficient.

India is already a major export platform for the business. The company ships products to nearly 70 countries, with the United States its largest overseas market and Europe next in line. According to the company’s own statements, products developed in India now include systems for MRI, CT and PET CT use, and under the current investment programme items such as the Revolution Aspire CT, Revolution ACT and MR breast coils are being made in India for global markets. India-made PET CT systems, used in cancer diagnosis, are also expected to be exported to 15 countries.

The expansion build-out follows the opening of a 35,000 sq ft Bengaluru factory in 2022 under the Production Linked Incentive scheme. GE HealthCare said the plant was set up for round-the-clock output of CT machines, cath lab equipment, ultrasound scanners, patient monitoring systems, ECG machines and ventilators. The company has also indicated further local manufacturing plans for baby warmers, alongside more PET CT and MRI capacity.

Engineering capability remains central to the strategy. Medical Buyer reported that Wipro GE Healthcare spends about 10 per cent of revenue on local R&D, and that India is its largest site for developing artificial intelligence applications. That makes proximity to its engineering teams a key criterion in the site selection process, particularly because complex imaging equipment often requires close coordination between design, development and manufacturing. The final choice of location will shape how effectively the company can serve its widening supplier base and whether the fifth plant becomes a new hub for both output and exports in the next phase of its India expansion.