Google, an Alphabet Inc subsidiary, announced on October 19 that it will manufacture its flagship Pixel phone line in India, citing the country as a priority market. As part of the Make in India initiative, the company has stated that the Pixel 8 will be manufactured in India and will be available in 2024. "India is a priority market for Pixel," Google's Head of Devices and Services Rick Osterloh said at the #GoogleForIndia event in New Delhi.

With this move, Google follows in the footsteps of other prominent global technology companies such as Apple. Apple, for example, has used this program to expand its supplier network in India and significantly increase iPhone production to more than $7 billion during the fiscal year.

India's Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in May held talks with Google's CEO Sundar Pichai, at the company's Mountain View, California headquarters. Their conversation reportedly focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to promote local manufacturing and India's government-supported push for technological advancements.

According to a recent Counterpoint Research report, India is now the second-largest mobile phone manufacturing hub due to heavy investment from original equipment manufacturers, original design manufacturers, and companies dealing in components and parts.

As per the Research, India will export approximately 22% of its total assembled mobile phones in 2023. In a boost to the 'Make in India' initiative, India saw mobile phone exports worth $5.5 billion (over Rs 45,000 crore) in the April-August period of the current fiscal year (FY24), according to recent government and industry data.

In the current fiscal year, India's mobile phone exports are expected to exceed Rs 1,20,000 crore, with Apple leading the market with more than 50% in FY24.