PM Modi inaugurates world's largest mobile factory in Noida jointly with South Korean president

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in jointly inaugurated the ‘world’s largest mobile factory’ of Samsung Electronics in Noida's sector 81 today. The Samsung facility will be manufacturing close to 120 million mobile phones per year, from the current capacity 67 million mobiles in India. Spread across 35-acre, the facility is in addition to Samsung’s existing manufacturing facility in Noida. The South Korean firm established one of the first electronics facilities in India in the early 1990s, and started manufacturing TVs in 1997. The current mobile phone manufacturing unit was, however, added in 2005.

Speaking at the venue, Prime Minister Modi described the occasion as a special one in the journey to make India a global manufacturing hub. He said the investment of about Rs 5000 crore, would not only strengthen Samsung’s business links with India, but is also significant in the context of the relationship between India and Korea.
 
He noted that digital technology is playing a key role in making the lives of the common man simpler, including through faster and more transparent service delivery. He also spoke of the expansion of smartphones, broadband and data connectivity, which he described as signs of a digital revolution in India. In this context, he also spoke of the government e-Marketplace (GeM), growth of digital transactions, BHIM App, and RuPay cards.
 
He said the ‘Make in India’ initiative is not just an economic policy measure, but also a resolve of better ties with friendly nations such as South Korea. He said that there is an open invitation for businesses across the world, who want to take advantage of the transparent business culture of New India. He said India’s growing economy, and rising neo middle class, creates immense investment possibilities.
 
The Prime Minister noted that India now ranks second, globally, in the manufacture of mobile phones, with the number of mobile phone manufacturing factories rising from just 2, to 120, in about four years’ time. He said this has created lakhs of employment opportunities.
 
The Prime Minister asserted that through this new mobile manufacturing facility, the combination of Korean technology, and Indian manufacturing and software support would provide excellent products for the world. He described this as the strength, and the shared vision of both countries.
 
The South Korean giant announced a Rs 4,915 crore investment to expand the Noida plant in June last year, and after a year, the new facility is ready to double production.
 
According to Reuters, the facility will allow Samsung to manufacture phones at a lower cost due to its scale, while other phone making hubs in China, South Korea and Vietnam are getting expensive, analysts who track the sector said.
 
The factory will also help Samsung compete with rivals such as China`s Xiaomi, which became India`s biggest smartphone brand by shipments earlier this year, said the report.
 
Samsung also plans to export India-made handsets, the company said in a statement.
 
Samsung has two manufacturing plants, one in Noida and the other in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur, five R&D centres, and one design centre in Noida, employing over 70,000 people and expanding its network to over 1.5 lakh retail outlets.
 
The company currently has over 10 per cent of its overall production in India and aims to take it to 50 per cent over the next three years.

Watch this Zee Business video

Samsung India, that reportedly registered 27 per cent growth in mobile business revenue for the financial year 2016-17 -- accounting for a whopping Rs 34,300 crore of its reported Rs 50,000 crore sales - won`t be able to hide the smile when the new facility kicks off production from July 9.