Chinese smartphone brands OPPO and Vivo on Thursday confirmed they have obtained necessary approvals from the state authorities to gradually resume production at their Greater Noida manufacturing facilities from May 8.

OPPO said it will restart manufacturing operations with 30 per cent workforce, with around 3,000 employees working in rotation out of more than 10,000-strong staff at the facility, adding that it has also commenced sales of its devices for consumers in the permitted zones through Amazon and Flipkart.

Vivo also confirmed it has got approval to resume production at its production facility with about 30 per cent of the capacity.

“We shall begin production with around 3,000 employees at our factory in Greater Noida from May 8. We shall strictly follow government”s guidelines to ensure safety and security of our employees”, said a Vivo spokesperson.

OPPO said that its SMS-based connectivity will be available from May 8 and WhatsApp Chat option will be available from May 10 onwards. The pilot will be initiated in a phase-wise manner with the objective to be gradually available pan-India.

Additionally, OPPO has also initiated safe services for consumers, which include placing orders of smartphones via WhatsApp and SMSes, contactless home delivery and after-sales services.

“As the business gets back to usual in due course of time, the production will be enhanced to full capacity,” informed the company.

The brand has also initiated sales of its devices in orange and green zones.

According to OPPO, for those looking to buy offline, 22 per cent of OPPO retail stores are also operational in the permitted zones, with around 17 per cent OECs staff present on-ground.

OPPO has also rolled out a variety of special offers for customers purchasing new smartphones. These offers include warranty offers up to Rs 2,599, cashback and EMI schemes, and offers through telecom operators valid until May 31.

The Noida-Greater manufacturing belt is set to produce about 30 per cent of an estimated 100 crore mobile phones the country will produce annually by 2025.

Approximately 80 mobile manufacturing factories are currently operating in this region, with an estimated total employment of 50,000 people, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA).

These 80 units produce mobile handsets as well as components for handsets such as chargers/adapters, battery packs, etc.