Munesh Makhija is GE India Tech Centre head

Bangalore, July 1 (IANS) Multinational General Electric (GE) Tuesday appointed Munesh Makhija as managing director of its India Technology Centre and chief technology officer of its Indian subsidiary.

"Makhija, who took over from outgoing incumbent Gopichand Katragadda will be based at the John F Welch Technology Centre in Bangalore and will lead our research and development (R&D) efforts in India," the company said in a statement here.

The technology centre in this tech hub is GE's first and largest integrated multi-disciplinary R&D centre.

"We have witnessed the best of technologies emerging from the India centre over the years. Under Katragadda's leadership, we developed technologies to improve the quality of life in India and the world over. Makhija will drive growth by increasing new product development," GE vice-president Mark Little said on the occasion.

GE South Asia chief executive Banmali Agrawala said as these were exciting times for India, the company was committed to develop technologies and solutions relevant globally and locally.

"In the Indian context, it is critical we leverage technology to find affordable solutions which touch and impact lives of the people. We are confident Makhija will chart a new phase of growth for the technology centre and the company," Agarwala noted.

In a career spanning over a decade at GE, Makhija held various leadership positions, including the post of vice-president of global research and chief technology officer at GE Healthcare in India, where he drove product and innovation to support growth in the country and global markets.

"At the India Technology Centre, we have some of the brightest minds pushing the limits of science and technology to solve some of the world's toughest problems in energy, healthcare, transportation, aviation, consumer and industrial domains," Makhija said.

Makhija will focus on locally relevant innovation and delivering advanced technology to solve global challenges.