According to three executives who attended meetings where the topic was discussed, the government has pushed Chinese mobile phone makers to include Indian equity partners in their local businesses.
According to the three sources stated above, the corporations have also been requested to employ Indian leaders in critical jobs such as chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and chief technical officer.
They have also been urged by the government to select Indian contract manufacturers, develop local production down to the component level via joint partnerships with Indian enterprises, enhance exports from the nation, and establish local distributors. Some of the firms have distributors in China.
According to the executives, Chinese businesses have also been advised to guarantee legal compliance and not to avoid taxes in India.
During recent meetings hosted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), top government officials expressed these difficulties to Chinese enterprises like Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and Vivo, as well as the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). The ICEA is the manufacturers’ lobbying organization.
The ministry did not reply to requests for comment.
Under Tax Evasion Scanner
The MeitY meetings occurred as multiple Chinese smartphone makers were investigated for tax fraud and suspected unlawful payments totaling hundreds of crores, resulting in the freezing of local bank accounts. Offline shops have also been urging the government to ensure a fair playing field by guaranteeing that predatory internet discounting does not occur. According to the executives, the government wants Indian equity partners not just in manufacturing operations, but also in sales and marketing. Currently, Chinese smartphone manufacturer brands have owned operations in India.
Local Talent and the Ecosystem
According to Madhav Seth, Realme’s president of international business, the government encourages enterprises to take advantage of the local talent and environment and make India their export and manufacturing base. “Such changes will enable higher value addition in the country and make businesses self-reliant.” He refused to provide any information or confirm the encounter.
According to ICEA chairman Pankaj Mohindroo, the government aims to expedite the development of Indian talents and enterprises, as well as bring in local firms wherever they can perform the work adequately.
“For instance, it wants Indian distribution in place of foreign distributors,” said Mohindroo. “The minister (of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar) is personally leading these and players in the industry are taking affirmative steps.”
According to one of the executives named, there should be no end-to-end Chinese control.
Oppo and Vivo did not reply to requests for comment.
According to a Xiaomi India spokesman, the company’s success has been founded on investing in local talent and establishing a strong core of Indian managers and leaders, partners, and distributors who have all worked together to expand the business. According to him, all local top positions are held by Indians, and the business was one of the early adopters of the Make in India project, manufacturing a full line-up of smartphones and TVs, as well as certain components.
Another industry official said that since electronics manufacturing has created a huge number of jobs and can improve the skillsets of a large number of people, the government has pushed Chinese enterprises to begin hiring Indians for replaceable talents.
