Tuesday, 7 November 2006

Nokia Makes 20 Mln Handsets in India

Handset maker Nokia will be shipping its 20 million mobile handset from its facility in Sriperumbudur, Chennai this November. Marking the occasion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi handed over commemorative Nokia handsets to two of the earliest employees at the manufacturing facility for their contribution to this success.

India, the world's fastest growing wireless services market is adding 5.5 million users on average each month. India's wireless sector offers the world's lowest local call rates, as low as two to three US cents a minute.

Union Minister Of Communications And Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, said, "Today I see the seeds of liberalisation bearing results as initiatives like these are helping India integrate itself into the global economy. Nokia has played a pivotal role in driving the telecom revolution in India and today it is fuelling the economic development of the region by providing meaningful employment opportunities through the creation of a vibrant telecom manufacturing ecosystem. This facility has been developed in the shortest possible time because of the support from the Central and the State Government."

Jukka Lehtela, Director-India Operations, said, "It is a source of great pride for us that Nokia has been able to achieve the milestone of manufacturing the 20 millionth 'Made in India' handset in a short period of eleven months. This achievement is a result of driving operational efficiencies through global best practices and standards. Chennai has proved to be an ideal location for us to set up our manufacturing facility given the large pool of skilled resources and conducive business environment. Nokia is committed to bring the benefits of economic growth to the region through the development of a robust telecom ecosystem."

India is expected to be the second largest market for Nokia in terms of volumes by 2010. Nokia was the first equipment vendor to manufacture both devices and network equipment. The company is on track with regard to the USD 150 million projected at the commencement of production. Nokia's factory in Sriperumbudur is its 15th global manufacturing facility.