Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inaugurated India’s first Tempered Glass Manufacturing Facility for Mobile Devices at Noida. The facility has been set up by Optiemus Electronics in collaboration with Corning Incorporated, USA, and will produce high-quality tempered glass under the globally recognised brand “Engineered by Corning”. The products will be supplied to both domestic and international markets.
Corning has formed a joint venture with Optiemus worth ₹1000 crore for the project to make cover glass for smartphones. Optiemus Infra will import glass sheets into India for tempered glass and they will be processed as per Corning’s techniques and mandates. The finished product will be sold in the country under the Rhinotech brand. The screen protectors will carry the ‘Engineered by Corning’ trademark.
With an initial investment of ₹70 crore, the facility in Noida will feature a state-of-the-art infrastructure that will enable a complete transformation of raw material into excellent quality tempered glass. Phase 1 will have an installed capacity of 25 million units per annum, generating direct employment for over 600 people. In phase 2, it will scale up capacity to 200 million units per annum for local and global markets, with an additional investment of ₹ 800 crore, creating over 4,500 direct job opportunities.
The facility boasts comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, including scribing, shaping/chamfering, polishing, dual-stage rinsing, chemical tempering, coating, printing, and lamination. Each stage is conducted under stringent quality inspections, bringing standardized, high-quality tempered glass to Indian consumers for the first time in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that tempered glass is an important accessory for mobile phones and its indigenous manufacturing is a major step forward in the success of Make in India and the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that step by step, India will manufacture each and every component used in mobile phones, including chips, cover glasses, laptop and server components, thereby positioning the country as a global player in electronics manufacturing.
The Minister also informed that a Made in India chip is expected to roll out soon, marking another milestone in the country’s journey towards self-reliance.
Vaishnaw underlined that in the past 11 years, electronics manufacturing in India has grown six times to reach a production value of ₹11.5 lakh crore, with exports of over ₹3 lakh crore and direct and indirect employment for 2.5 million people. He said that the overall electronics ecosystem in the country is developing rapidly and value addition is being enhanced step by step.
For Tempered Glass, it is estimated that the domestic market is more than 500 million pieces with a retail value of approximately ₹ 20,000 crore, showcasing a large-scale opportunity in the country. The global market is worth over USD 60 billion.
On the occasion, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Chairman, Optiemus Infracom Limited said, “This is a landmark moment for the Indian electronics manufacturing industry and the Make in India vision. Despite being one of the world’s largest mobile phone markets, India has relied on imports for tempered glass. With this initiative, we are looking at building global-scale capabilities to support the Indian and international markets with the best quality products. Our aspiration is that every Indian mobile phone user must use a Make in India tempered glass with BIS certification and fog marking to protect their screen.”
