Micromax to manufacture all phones in India by 2018

New Delhi: Indian consumer electronics firm, Micromax Informatics will manufacture all its phones in India by 2018, announced its co-founder.

Micromax is set to shift production from China back home, where costs are becoming cheaper.

"With less than two-thirds of its products are assembled in India currently and full home production now made economic sense given rising Chinese labor costs and a growing network of local suppliers of components," said Co-founder, Micromax Informatics, Rahul Sharma.

Micromax, which has grown rapidly since 2008 by selling low-cost smart-phones, said earlier this month it would invest 3 billion rupees (USD45 million) on constructing new factories and would make more phones in India to cut its dependence on Chinese imports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to expand the electronics manufacturing industry in India to boost employment and in August Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant Foxconn announced a USD 5 billion investment commitment in India.

Micromax is the second largest smartphone seller behind South Korea's Samsung in India, the world's third biggest smartphone market.

The company, controlled by its founders, said in April it was looking to raise capital from investors or through a stock listing as it expands into new businesses like personal computing. It has held talks with investors led by Japan's SoftBank Corp to sell a stake, sources said in March.

Micromax brand YU on Thursday launched what it claims is the world's most powerful smartphone, YUTOPIA, which it hopes to sell to well-heeled Indians.