Corona Virus threatens the smart phone industry in India

Smart phone industry executives said that the outbreak of Corona virus in China could start disrupting India's production in this area if it continues to spread in February, as it may delay component shipments.

India is the world's largest smartphone maker after China, but it still relies to a large extent on it to supply parts such as cells, display boards, camera units and printed circuit boards.

Foxconn and Wistron of Taiwan are making an iPhone in India for Apple, and Foxconn is producing phones there for the Chinese company, Xiaomi. Other smart phone makers in India include South Korea's Samsung OnePlus.

India's smartphone makers have so far managed to cope with the effects of the virus, partly because they boosted the inventory of Chinese-made parts anyway to cover the Lunar New Year holiday period when Chinese factories shut down.

"These disturbances have already been planned, but if (the spread of the virus) spreads, then for the production of March and April we will face a serious problem ... We are definitely worried," says Ray, co-founder of smart phone maker Lava.

Ray said some components could be shipped from markets such as South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan, but smartphone makers would only purchase such a "last resort" because it would force companies to make changes, including design and software.