Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday inaugurated India’s first tempered glass manufacturing unit set up by Optiemus Infracom in partnership with US material technology major Corning. The plant, located in Noida, will make protective tempered glass used for mobile phone screens.“Optiemus is the new gem in the fast-growing electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the country. By the end of this year, production of cover glass from Corning will also commence,” Vaishnaw said at the launch, PTI quoted him as saying.According to Optiemus, the Noida facility has been established with an initial investment of Rs 70 crore. It will start with an annual installed capacity of 2.5 crore units and create over 600 direct jobs. In the second phase, the company plans to scale up production to 20 crore units per year for both domestic and export markets with an additional Rs 800 crore investment.Vaishnaw noted that India’s electronics manufacturing sector has grown sixfold in the last 11 years, reaching a production value of Rs 11.5 lakh crore, with exports topping Rs 3 lakh crore and direct and indirect employment for 25 lakh people. He urged Optiemus to expand its research team from 40 to 400, stressing that design and product development would be central to the industry’s future strength.Optiemus Chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said the company is committed to investing Rs 800 crore over the next 12 months to expand tempered glass manufacturing, with plans to generate 16,000 direct and indirect jobs.“In phase 2, we will set up another factory in Noida with capacity of 10 crore units and a facility in the South with capacity of 15 crore units, backed by an investment of more than Rs 450 crore. The entire Rs 800 crore will be invested in tempered glass production within the next one year,” Gupta said.He added that the company will launch Made-in-India tempered glass under the RhinoTech brand from September, offering a one-year warranty with unlimited replacement. Gupta expressed confidence that government efforts to curb non-compliant products would aid market traction.Optiemus and Corning have also partnered to set up a joint venture unit in Chennai for manufacturing cover glass, which comes fitted on mobile displays. Production from this plant is expected to begin by the end of the year.