Mumbai, NFAPost: To set up a phone manufacturing plant at the industrial complex in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, Tata Group is pouring Rs 5,000 crore. TIDCO (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation) has allocated 500 acres of land to the new company, Tata Electronics.
The investment will be scaled up depending on the level of sourcing from the facility and could even touch Rs 8,000 crore.
As per the sources, the unit will be manufacturing components for Apple, which is looking to diversify its sourcing base from China. Foxconn is already manufacturing handsets, including iPhone 11, for Apple at its facility in Sriperumbudur, outside Chennai.
The expertise for this project will be provided by Titan Engineering and Automation Ltd (TEAL). The new unit will have a staff strength of 18,000 by October 2021 and 90% of it will be women.
The Tata Group is utilising the productivity-linked incentive scheme by the Modi government which is aimed at fortifying India’s electronics manufacturing base including achieving self-sufficiency in manufacturing of mobile handsets.
According to sources, there was intense competition between States for bagging this project. In the end Tamil Nadu pipped Karnataka to seal the deal. What worked to Tamil Nadu’s advantage appears to be its favourable policies and the presence of companies like Foxconn, Flex, Samsung, Dell, Nokia, Motorola and BYD to name a few.
