Swiss FMCG firm Nestle has announced its plans to invest Rs 600 crore in its Indian subsidiary in calendar year 2009, as part of its business strategy.

The company which has granted an investment of Rs 300 crore in the Indian market this year, would be doubling the investment in 2009, on the back of strong growth it witnessed in India during 2007.

According to the company, the investment would go in new research and development, advertising and capacity expansion at its factories.

Nestle proposes to ride through the recession through a combination of high-margin and value-added products, for which it has outlined out-of-home expansion and health and wellness as big growth areas.

In India, Nestle will mainly focus on - nutrition and wellness, inclusion of consumer, branded beverages and super premium and luxury products.

Nestle's sales in India increased by 25% in the first half of 2008 with the country contributing 1.5% of its global turnover.

Nestle is expecting a billion new consumers in next 10 years, for its products which range from coffee, dairy to processed food and confectionary.

Nestle, which had yesterday reaffirmed that all its milk products in China and Hong Kong are absolutely safe and the company expects the recent China milk scandal to positively impact its business as its products have been cleared by Chinese authorities.