LG begins smartphone manufacturing in India

Reiterating its commitment to the Make in India initiative, South Korean electronics major LG on Thursday launched two locally-made smartphones and targets to manufacture 1 million phones in India. The company will be manufacturing phones at its Noida facility in partnership with GDN Enterprises. The two smartphones - the LG K7 LTE and LG K10 LTE, priced at Rs. 9,500 and Rs. 13,500 respective -were launched by Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday. LG is the latest entrant to start manufacturing of phones in the country, which has launched ‘Make in India’ initiative. Several device makers, including Micromax, Lava, Gionee, OnePlus, and Xiaomi, have started assembling their devices in the country. India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally and device makers are keen to set up manufacturing units here to cater to the burgeoning demand. “We want to tap the huge potential for smartphones in the country and the K-series will be the first ones to be manufactured in India,” LG Electronics India Managing Director Kim Ki-Wan said in New Delhi. He added that the company is optimistic over the new models to drive its growth in the smartphone segment in India. Prasad said it was an occasion of personal satisfaction for him to see companies setting up base in India for electronics manufacturing. PTI