With a view to enhance its information communication technology services in India, networking giant Cisco Systems plans to hire 3,000 professionals over the next two years, a top company official said today.

"We are quite happy about our Indian operations. As Bangalore is the second head office for Cisco after California, we want to increase our headcount here. We plan to hire 3,000 more in the next two years," Cisco's Chief Globalisation Officer and Executive Vice-President, Wim Elfrink, told PTI.

Cisco's current headcount in India is 7,000.

The USD 40-billion company is developing an about 1-million sq ft campus in Bangalore, the firm's second head office. The campus is likely to house 8-10 start-up companies.

The California-based ICT service provider has also tied-up with Lavasa Corporation, the real estate arm of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) to provide e-governance and city management solutions besides providing e-connectivity in Lavasa.

On the venture involving Lavasa, India's first hill city near Pune that uses smart broadband based technologies for its water and fuel management, he said urbanisation allows tremendous opportunities for business as well as a better life for people.

"About 70 per cent of the global population will migrate to urban cities in the next 40-years. If smart cities are built using smart technologies sitting on top of a broadband network, then it would result in huge savings, a cleaner, greener earth and a better life for city dwellers," he said.

The California-based ICT service provider has also tied-up with Lavasa Corporation, the real estate arm of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) to provide e-governance and city management solutions besides providing e-connectivity in Lavasa city, Elfrink said.

On the Lavasa venture, he said urbanisation affords tremendous opportunities for business as well as a better life for people.

"About 70 per cent of the global population will migrate to urban cities in the next 40-years. If smart cities are built using smart technologies sitting on top of a broadband network, then it would result in huge savings, a cleaner, greener earth and a better life for city dwellers," Elfrink said.