Rama Krishna Sangem
Boosting manufacturing in India, Google has started assembling Pixel 8 phones through Wowtek Technology India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharat FIH, part of the Foxconn group, with a factory in Tamil Nadu. According to senior Meity officials, the global giant has given a three-year timeline in which it expects to shift the bulk of assembly of its new range of mobile devices to India.
Currently, Pixel smartphones are made in Vietnam and China. The US tech giant started making Pixel devices in China in 2016 and shifted part of the assembly to Vietnam in 2019 due to growing US-China tensions. Google announced the global launch of its latest Pixel 9 smartphone yesterday.
Speaking on the development, a top Meity official said, “In the initial stages, they will make a limited number of phones. But once the production stabilises, according to the plan discussed with us, in three years they will assemble most of their new smartphones in India for the domestic market and exports. In many ways, it is the same strategy Apple which has shifted a substantial portion of iPhone assembly to India.” A Bharat FIH and Google spokesperson did not respond to queries.
PLI scheme challenges for Bharat FIH
Bharat FIH is already eligible for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing mobile devices. However, it has not been able to claim the 4-6 per cent incentive as it has not been able to meet the production value and investment target required for eligibility. In fact, one of the largest original equipment manufacturers, Xiaomi, has significantly reduced its reliance on Bharat FIH and shifted to other players, including Dixon Technologies.
On the other hand, Foxconn has also decided to double its capacity in India to meet the near doubling of the original requirement of assembling iPhones in the country and the upside through its contract now with Google. In its discussions with the government it has also committed to creating 100,000 direct jobs on its own (from 50,000 currently).
The Meity official said, “Foxconn has big plans and has decided to double its capacity in the country. It will also generate a total of Rs 1 lakh jobs in the country.”
In October 2023 Google announced that it would be assembling the Pixel phones in India and was scouting around for vendors. While it identified Bharat FIH, which makes non-Apple mobile devices, it also has finalised a deal with Dixon Technologies (also eligible for PLI) to assemble the phones. Now Google will join Apple in mobile making in India.
