Foxconn may soon build Microsoft's Windows Phones in India

The Times of India reports that Microsoft is closing in on an agreement with Foxconn to manufacture phones in India. Foxconn will start manufacturing smartphones in the country for Microsoft in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.

 Foxconn is a Taiwan-based contract manufacturer. The company makes phones for top global brands, including Apple as well as Nokia N1 tablet.

Terry Gou, Chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, recently visited India and made a statement that the company will commit $2 billion to set up 10 to 12 factories across the country with initial plans for Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujrat.

The new Foxconn factory named Rising Star, is a rented building in manufacturing hub Sri City with over 100 employees.The Rs. 770 million facility is now being used to put together smartphones for Xiaomi, and American brand InFocus.

The report also states that multiple sources have confirmed that Foxconn plant will manufacture two variants of Microsoft smartphone in India.The Indian market has so far been catered to from China, Finland and Vietnam. According to analysts, Microsoft would join brands such as Micromax, Lava, Spice, Gionee and Xiaomi that have begun or looking to start their operation in India, instead of importing finished goods from China.

In recent time a number of Mobile product makers including Sony, LG, Motorola, Lenovo, HTC, Asus and Micromax have announced their plans to manufacture their handsets in India. Suddenly it seems like everyone has an interest to manufacture their phones in India, but there is a darker side. The interest is triggered because of the hike in excise duty up to 12.5% to boost local manufacturing. Smartphone brands have realized that manufacturing in India is more feasible than importing parts and assembling them. This will also result in job opportunities.

Of-course, Indian consumers will benefit from this because handset manufacturers can now assemble and sell smartphones locally and also to neighboring countries, with consumer benefiting with lower prices. India is expected to become the second largest smartphone market in the world by 2017.

Kaiser Bey

Kaiser is a tech enthusiast who likes to write, read and talk about tech. He dreams of going to Mars and never come back. We hope that you find his posts on AndroGuider helpful and informative