Asian Tech Press (Dec 13) -- Nokia brand licensee HMD Global is involved in India's "Make in India" program and has partnered with various ODMs and EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) to manufacture its smartphones and feature phones locally in India. Recently, the company said it has started exporting phones made in its Indian factories overseas.

In an interview with The Press Trust of India (PTI), Sanmeet Singh Kochhar, HMD's global vice president (India, Middle East and North Africa), revealed that the company is already exporting Nokia 105 (2019) feature phones to the UAE market. The feature phone was first launched in 2019 and has since become the top-selling feature phone in India and globally.

"We have started exporting from India. So far, all the phones we have sold in India have been made in India. They are not only made in India, but we are also focused on manufacturing them with our Indian manufacturing partners, and we are now initiating exports from India," the VP added.

The HMD global vice president stressed the huge relevance of feature phones at a time when smartphones are becoming more and more popular, citing that they have more than enough features, long-lasting batteries, easy maintenance and low prices. He noted that despite the gradual decline in the global feature phone market due to the rise of more affordable entry-level smartphones, the Indian feature phone market remains strong.