Google ties up with Foxconn to set up plant in Tamil Nadu to manufacture Pixel phones

Alphabet Inc-owned Google has partnered with Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group to set up a plant in Tamil Nadu to manufacture Pixel smartphones.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday said that the decision to start its production unit was the result of negotiations between the state government and Google management.

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The chief minister said that the officials from Google would soon come to Chennai to discuss the project.

“There's a bright opportunity for setting up Google Pixel's manufacturing factory near Chennai. A situation has also arisen wherein youth qualified in information technology will get employment,” Stalin said in a statement.

A team from the Tamil Nadu government, including Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa, has recently met Google’s senior management in the US to promote the state as a manufacturing location.

Last year, Google had said that it would begin production of its Pixel 8 smartphones in India.

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Google is accelerating its plans to manufacture devices in India. Apple has already moved some of its iPhone production to India and Samsung Electronics has also set up an assembly line in the country. 

In the last 10 years, mobile phone manufacturing in value terms rose 21-fold to ₹4.1 lakh crore in India as government policy measures like performance-linked incentive (PLI) schemes played a critical role in attracting global players to boost local production, industry body India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) had said in March this year.

According to ICEA, Apple and Samsung have played a crucial role in boosting mobile phone exports from the country.

India now produces 97 per cent of its total mobile phone demand locally, and 30 per cent of the total production in financial year 2024 is meant for export, the industry body had said.