Union Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and secretaries of six ministries are in talks to finalise a $ 20 billion investment in the country by Taiwanese electronic component manufacturer, Foxconn Technology. Prasad met with chairman and founder of Foxconn, Terry Gou, with a delegation of 30 members. Sources said, “Based on the discussion a final announcement along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be made.”
“Today’s meeting is crucial since Foxconn has decided on the areas where it wants to invest in India,” a source in the Commerce Ministry said. The move could help boost electronic component manufacturing in India, and allow it to compete with its rival China in the field of manufacturing cheap electronic goods.
It is reported that Gou has held meetings with chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana, in the last two months to accrue land for a probable technology park. He also met with film direcor Subhash Ghai during his meeting last month, sparking speculations of his plans to invest in Bollywood. Foxconn has already announced a partnership with Sony, as the sole manufacturer of the brand's Bravia bilateral.
A 30 member delegation from the company visited different ministries and state government officials, prior to Gou's visit. It is informed by sources that the investment news was to be announced in the Digital India week launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Gou was unable to attend the function.
It is also in talks with Adani Group, Snapdeal and Flipkart for hawking products manufactured in India with its partners. This will be Foxconn's second innings in India as it also makes components for companies like Sony, Xiaomi and Acer.
It is currently dealing with litigation issues over laid off employees, who allege that the company closed down units without “following any of the mandatory procedures under the Industrial Disputes Act”. The company had to shut down in 2014, after its major client, Nokia, closed down its manufacturing facility in Chennai.
