DECEMBER, 20258TOP STORIESTOP STORIESVINFAST ANNOUNCES $500 MILLION EXPANSION OF TAMIL NADU EV FACILITYAIRTEL & NOKIA DEAL OPENS NETWORK APIS FOR NEW DEVELOPER REVENUEVinFast is moving into a bigger phase in India as the company and the Government of Tamil Nadu have signed a new MoU to allocate 200 hectares of land inside the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Thoothukudi.The agreement strengthens VinFast's plan to scale up its footprint and marks a key step in the State's push toward cleaner transportation.The Vietnamese automaker will widen its portfolio beyond electric cars, adding electric buses, e-scooters, and charging infrastructure.As part of the second phase of its existing $2 billion commitment, VinFast will invest $500 million to build dedicated workshops and production lines for these new products. The expansion will include manufacturing, assembly, testing, and other operations that support the company's broader EV strategy. "We welcome VinFast's next phase of planned development of electric cars in Tamil Nadu. The introduction of electric buses and e-scooters will generate additional momentum for the green transportation strategy of Tamil Nadu and India," Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa said.Pham Sanh Chau, Vingroup Asia CEO and VinFast Asia CEO, said, "The proposed expansion of the Tamil Nadu plant will enable us to broaden our product line-up in India, from electric cars to electric buses and e-scooters, allowing us to meet a wider range of customer needs. We also expect this initiative to create job opportunities, advance localisation, and strengthen the skills of the local workforce."Under the MoU, Tamil Nadu will allocate about 500 acres of land next to the current plant and help VinFast secure permits while building essential infrastructure such as electricity, water, internal roads, drainage, and waste management systems. The State will also extend all eligible incentives and exemptions under its current policies for the company's proposed investment.VinFast's existing facility spans 400 acres and has an initial annual capacity of 50,000 electric vehicles. The plant is already being scaled up to 150,000 units, positioning it as a major EV hub for the region. to tap rising demand for advanced use cases built on 5G, AI, automation, and edge computing.Airtel Business CEO Sharat Sinha said, "We are happy to partner with Nokia today for network APIs and enable the ecosystem to leverage our network capabilities for automation and building secure and innovative digital services."The move strengthens India's innovation stack by enabling developers to build advanced, real-time solutions using the operator's pan-India network assets. According to Nokia, "This strategic partnership will provide developers and enterprises alike access to Airtel's extensive pan-India network assets, creating new monetization opportunities and innovative use cases that will span multiple industry verticals."Network APIs have become critical for telecom operators globally as they virtualize network layers and expose capabilities that enterprises can integrate into digital services.Nokia's Head of Cloud and Network Services for India, Arvind Khurana, highlighted the larger intent behind the partnership, stating, "Our partnership with Airtel represents a significant step in expanding the Network as Code ecosystem. It demonstrates our commitment to helping telecommunications providers monetize their network investments while fostering innovation in the developer community."Nokia said its global Network as code ecosystem now includes more than 60 partners across telecom, AI, cloud, CPaaS and enterprise software domains. Bharti Airtel and Nokia's latest collaboration marks a pivotal development for India's fast-scaling digital and 5G innovation ecosystem. The Finnish telecom major has joined hands with Airtel to open network capabilities to third-party developers, creating a new wave of monetizable, network-driven applications for enterprises and solution builders in the country.After successful trials, Airtel's network APIs will now be accessible on a subscription basis to developers, system integrators and enterprises through Nokia's Network as Code platform. This positions the telecom operator
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