Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday called Google’s decision to make Pixel smartphones in India a “very big achievement”.
The minister was speaking to ANI after Google announced that it will start manufacturing Pixel smartphones in India. The company has not disclosed the names of its partners but it has confirmed to join hands with both domestic and international brands for the manufacturing.
“Just about nine years back electronics manufacturing was negligible in the country. Mobile manufacturing was practically not there, almost 98 per cent of mobile phones that we used were imported. In a short time span of nine years our PM Modi’s vision of Digital India, Make in India & Startup India this bouquet of programs has established India as a trusted value chain partner. Practically every big electronics manufacturer is setting up its design in India and I am very happy to share that Google has announced the manufacturing of Pixel smartphones in India. This is a very big achievement.,” Vaishnaw said.
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Google recently launched its flagship Pixel 8 smartphone. The series includes a base and a Pro model. The company will manufacture Pixel phones in India starting with Pixel 8 with the first India-made Pixel phone to come to market in 2024.
“We’re all very proud. Google is very proud, partner of the government of India’s making India initiative. We’ll be sharing a lot more information in the coming months. We can’t wait to bring more pixel magic to India,” Google’s head of product and services, Rick Osterloh said while announcing the news at the event adding that it’s a huge step forward in Google’s commitment to India.
According to some reports in the past, Google is in talks with Lava International Ltd, Dixon Technologies India Ltd and Foxconn Technology Group’s Indian unit Bharat FIH to assemble Pixel phones in India. The IT minister also met Sundar Pichai few months back at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, wherein he talked about government’s local manufacturing in India.
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