Nokia's India site decision by March

Nokia India has started negotiations with various state governments to finalise the location of its proposed mobile handset manufacturing plant.

"We are in talks with various state governments for finalising the location of our proposed manufcturing plant. A decision is expected by the end of the current quarter," Sanjeev Sharma, managing director of Nokia India, said today.

He said the company is looking for a site that provides an ideal mix of good infrastructure, logistics availability and skilled manpower. The company is also expecting a host of tax incentives from the state government to kick-start its manufacturing activities.

Sharma agreed that tax incentives would be an important factor in the choice of location, but refused to give the names of the states high on the company's priority list. "Everything is being negotiated and evaluated at the moment," he said.

Nokia had announced, in December, an investment plan of up to $150 million over the next four years in setting up a manufacturing facility in India that would employ about 2,000 people.