Google wants to manufacture Pixel phones in India

Google reportedly wants to produce Pixel smartphones in India. The development comes just a month after Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met with Google parent Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at Google's headquarters in California, US, as reported. Per Bloomberg, Google's move appears to be related to the Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) that India wants to offer international tech giants to make smartphones in the country. The move would further diversify Google's manufacturing portfolio beyond China. Apple also aims to shift 18 per cent of global iPhone production to India by 2025.

The report highlights that Google is already in talks with Foxconn Technology Group's Indian unit Bharat FIH, as well as local manufacturers such as Lava International and Dixon Technologies India, to make Pixel phones in India. Key Google representatives, including Ana Corrales, head of operations for its consumer hardware arm, and Maggie Wei, senior director of operations for global sustaining products, have also visited India in recent weeks to start talks. However, the discussions appear to be in the preliminary stages, and the company may seek other partners if no agreement is reached.

Google sees India as a key market, at least for its services. The company continues to introduce unique Maps features for the Indian audience in various regional languages. Google is also working with Reliance Jio to offer a tailor-made Android operating system for Jio smartphones.

On the other hand, Google's hardware is not always the first to arrive in India. The company skipped the launch of its flagship Pixel 5 and 6 series, though it did introduce the Pixel 7 series last year. Even Google's latest hardware, including the Pixel Fold, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Tablet, is still not available in India. But the company has been stepping up its efforts to at least bring smartphones as much as possible. It recently introduced Pixel 7a in India.

Meanwhile, India has been aggressively pushing the Made-in-India initiative, which has already forced Chinese smartphone players to set up factories in different Indian cities. Samsung also makes smartphones in India and has the world's largest mobile phone factory in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Recently, the IANS news agency reported that mobile phone exports experienced growth of 128 per cent between April and May this year. Growth was driven by iPhone exports.