A number of mobile phone manufacturers are considering setting up units in Telangana, the State's IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Friday. Inaugurating a facility of smartphone maker Celkon, which has been outsourcing from China, the Minister declared: "This is just the beginning. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is keen on a having a mobile manufacturing hub in Telangana.
"Micromax has decided to set up a plant near Hyderabad on 50 acres," the Minister said, adding he would be visiting South Korea and Japan soon to hardsell the State to electronic hardware manufacturers. Noting that both the Centre and the Telangana Government were on the same page with their 'make locally' approach, Mr. Rama Rao said that there were plans to develop hardware cluster in Maheswaram, Medchal and Ghatkesar, all near Hyderabad.
Celkon's unit is in Medchal and equipped with four assembly lines and has a capacity of two lakh units a month. It is to be expanded to 12 lines and a total of five lakh units capacity per month. Reiterating the focus of the Government on facilitating industrial growth to create jobs for youths, Mr. Rama Rao said that mobile phone units can provide large number of low-end employment opportunities to those from ITIs and diploma holders.
The State, he added, was keen on creating an eco-system that eventually will help host an analog Fab manufacturing unit. Celkon Chairman and Managing Director Y. Guru expressed satisfaction at becoming the first mobile phone manufacturer in south India. "This comes at a time when India is poised to become the largest consumer base for mobile phones and we are set to bring in a new phase of growth at Celkon," he said.
Executive Director Murali Retineni said that by next quarter the investment on the new facility will be around Rs.225 crore. Lion's share of Celkon monthly sales of 6-7 lakh units will be made in India.
