Talking about the investment, Sir Andrew Philip Witty, CEO, GSK, said, "GSK is a long-standing investor in India and we fully support the government in their efforts to increase access to affordable medicines and to improve healthcare. This new facility will substantially increase the capacity of our manufacturing base and enable us to bring more medicines to the people of India."

Mr Witty, who was on a visit to India yesterday, further added that, "The location of the new factory hasn't been finalized, however, the lead site will be in Bangalore."

In this regard, GSK is expected to partner with local design and construction companies to build its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.

When complete, the new facility will make pharmaceutical products for the Indian market at the rate of up to eight billion tablets, and one billion capsules a year, said the company's press release.

The facility is expected to be operational by 2017, which will include a warehouse, site infrastructure and utilities to support the manufacturing and packing of the medicines. Also, the new plant is expected to create about 250 new jobs.

The company claimed that it has invested over Rs 1017 crore [£ 100million] in the last decade and is proactively seeking to build capacity in India, as it delivers its portfolio of products in areas such as gastroenterology and anti-inflammatory medicines.