IBM is investing US$6 billion to set up new research facilities and expand its outsourcing centers in India. The company has hired thousands of engineers and software professionals since Palmisano unveiled the three-year investment plan last June.
Company officials declined to immediately comment on the visit and Palmisano avoided journalists after addressing Indian business leaders at a close-door meeting.
IBM sees India as a key base to support services for clients around the globe, helping the company fend off competition from low-cost Indian service providers that are increasingly grabbing worldwide technology consulting business.
It also wants to seize the opportunities in the fast-growing India market.
Currently, sales in India form a negligible part of IBM's global revenue, but the Armonk, New York-based company is beginning to win large orders from Indian companies.
In March, it won a 10-year contract to manage the information technology infrastructure of Indian mobile company Idea Cellular in a deal valued between US$600 million and US$800 million.
IBM now employs about 53,000 people in India, second only to the United States, where it has about 125,000 employees. Most of them are employed at the company's outsourcing centers that cater to IBM's clients worldwide.