General Electric Co will invest about $100 million over the next three years to expand its research and development center in southern India, chairman Jack Welch recently announced. "This (center) is critical to the operations of GE," said Welch. "This will be our largest research center in the world." GE officials said that $53 million would be invested in the first and second phase of the center, named after Welch, and the remaining investment would be made in the third phase. The research center aims to increase its workforce to 2,600 scientists and engineers in three years from the current 370, they said. Research would be conducted in the areas of advanced chemistry, polymer science, mechanical engineering, electronics, information technology, ceramics, metallurgy, and e- business, a GE statement said. The results of the research would be used by various GE businesses to develop new products or processes, GE officials said.