World's biggest mobile factory opens in Noida

The world's biggest mobile factory was launched yesterday in Noida, a satellite township of New Delhi, jointly by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting South Korean President Moon Jae.

The factory of Samsung Electronics, set up with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore, will have a capacity of making 120 million phones a year -- ranging from low-end smartphones to the company's latest flagship S9 model.

It will build 10 million phones a month, 70 percent of which will be earmarked for domestic use, Modi said on travelling to the factory with Jae on a Delhi metro train. Already 40 crore Indians own smartphones while 32 crore people use broadband.

Some 30 percent of the phones from the new factory will be exported, helping the country secure its place in the global market, he added.

"This step today would give momentum to Make-in-India, besides empowering citizens...This is a matter of pride for India," said Modi who has been making a strong pitch for foreign firms to set up plants in the country.

India overtook the US to become the world's second-largest smartphone market after China last year.

"Samsung has provided employment to approximately 70,000 people; the new plant will provide employment to 1,000 more," the Indian prime minister said.

Modi said India's expanding economy and the new-middle class would create unlimited possibilities. There is hardly any Indian middle class household, which does not have a Samsung product, he said.