General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt is extremely bullish on India. He told the media

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here that a sustained seven percent growth was “quite hopeful for GE and this would help achieve the target to double the business in the country in the next five years.” Immelt identified healthcare, aviation, transport, and energy as the key business drivers for GE in the country.

Talking at length about the healthcare business, Immelt said, "In five to seven years our aim is that 50-75% of GE Healthcare products will be made in India.” He said GE was keen to transport the learning from the Indian market globally to achieve universal affordable healthcare.

He said that to achieve this the US conglomerate and India's third largest software company Wipro would integrate healthcare units in south Asia to drive synergies and efficiencies in the two-decade-old relationship between the two companies.

Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro, said the integrated entity-Wipro GE Healthcare Ltd.-would bring world-class healthcare to south Asia by providing best-in-class solutions. GE has been our valued partner since 1990. Together we have defined many growth stories in healthcare sector in south Asia, he added.

Wipro GE Healthcare Ltd would absorb existing medical equipment business units, manufacturing plants and employees in India and elsewhere in South Asia of General Electric Co. The integration would lead to an additional headcount of 1200 at the company.

Immelt and Premji stressed that with growing demand for healthcare in the region, the integration would define for the joint venture company the next stage of market leadership. The integrated companies are GE Healthcare Life Sciences, GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics and GE Medical Systems India.

Wipro, India’s third-largest software provider, with headquarters in Bangalore, has a 49 percent stake in Wipro GE Healthcare, while General Electric Co. diversified company that makes power generators, jet engines and sells private-label credit cards, holds the rest.