As the government of Telangana is changing, news surfaced that stated that the US-based Corning Inc, which is the key supplier of Apple, has reportedly picked Tamil Nadu (surpassing Telangana) for setting up its Rs 1,000 crore facility. The move has been taken in collaboration with Optiemus Infracom- the domestic electronics manufacturer. Earlier, K. Chandrashekar Rao - led state government had announced in September (2023) that Corning Inc. had chosen Telangana to set up their Gorilla Glass manufacturing facility.
Employment in Telangana
The proposed facility in Telangana is expected to generate employment for over 800 people, said K.T. Rama Rao in a statement from the office of the former state IT and Industries Minister.
Rama Rao met John Bayne, who is the Senior Vice President; Ravi Kumar, who is the Global Operations Executive, and Sarah Cartmell, who is the Director of Government Affairs from Corning Inc. which is based in New York.
Rao said, "Several electronics manufacturing companies are increasingly choosing Hyderabad as their destination. Foxconn made a significant investment in the State earlier this year, and now Corning’s investment in Telangana will propel a new era of smartphone manufacturing in Telangana and in India.”
As per the report of The Economic Times, Corning Inc. is looking to set up around Rs 1,000 crore manufacturing facility at Pillaipakkam Village based in Sriperumbudur block in Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu. The company is set to employ around 300 people initially.
Why did Corning choose Tamil Nadu over Telangana?
The report states that Corning has picked Tamil Nadu over Telangana due to its proximity to other Apple suppliers like Pegatron and Foxconn.
When will the MoU be signed?
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed at the Global Investor Meet (GIM) in January 2023.
In October 2023, homegrown Optiemus Infracom Limited and Corning announced they would manufacture 30 million pieces of high-quality finished cover glass parts for smartphone users in the first phase and will employ more than 500 people in India, later. Cover Glass is a key component for electronic devices.
Both firms have been under the joint venture - Bharat Innovation Glass (BIG) Technologies will be manufacturing the parts.
Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairman, Optiemus said, “We are committed to make available world-class high-quality products for global and local brands. Embarking on this new journey, we intend to emerge as one of the top manufacturers of finished cover glass parts for use in mobile consumer electronic devices in the next five years.”
ALSO READ: Flipkart Big Year End Sale offering huge discounts on gadgets | Deets here
Inputs from IANS
