Eyewear major Lenskart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to establish an industrial giant manufacturing facility – and that is the tallest commitment made in the recent innings of investment in this sector for the state. PEGGED at an Rs 1,500 cr investment, it shall entail creating around 2,100 jobs, to seal Telangana as yet another prime manufacturing base, for eyewear.
The minister announced the tie-up on 8 December, terming the facility “the world’s largest eyewear manufacturing facility.” The plant will come up at Fab City. The land has already been identified, and it is to be handed over to Lenskart this week.
The manufacturing facility will cater to all kinds of eyewear, lenses, sunglasses, and accessories, as its design is to be totally integrated. It will focus on Indian markets while exportable to Southeast Asian as well as Middle Eastern markets, thus offering regional strategic scope for trade.
The development comes after a very interesting prelude involving another southern state. In April 2024, Peyush Bansal, the co-founder and CEO of Lenskart, publicly called for 25 acres of land within 60 kilometers of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport for a “mega factory.” Karnataka’s Industries Minister MB Patil promptly welcomed the investment and said, “We are excited.”.
The ball stayed with Telangana and finally managed to bag the humongous project. “This is a testament to our policy which promises speed and ease of doing business for companies, points out Minister Babu the Investment”.
Over 1500 Lenskart United across India
Founded in 2010, Lenskart quickly spread across India, forcing over 1,500 retail outlets. The Bhiwadi, Rajasthan facility is the highest-scale manufacturing facility available to this company currently. What Telangana represents is thus a big-scale upward mobility for the company in manufacturing.
It is a time when Karnataka and Telangana, both ruled by the Congress party, are anxiously on the lookout to attract industrial investments. The fact that the European delegation Patil is currently leading investments in the state for the next Invest Karnataka scheduled for February 2025 reveals how much work goes into projecting the region as an investment destination.
It would have many direct benefits: job creation, improved technological processes in manufacturing, and spill-over economic benefits in the local economy. The discourse surrounding the R&D center infers that this project would hold long-term benefits in capacity building for Telangana in the eyewear area.
2100 new jobs with new outlet
Investments like the mega facility of Lenskart in Telangana reflect the attractiveness of Indian states as manufacturing destinations even as the manufacturing landscape continues to evolve in India. All these considerations, namely a skilled workforce, supportive government policies, and strategic market position become increasingly viable considerations for such investments.
This marks a landmark for Lenskart and Telangana, as this would give the state’s industrial ecosystem the much-needed strength to ensure that future large-scale manufacturing investments in the region have a benchmark.
Telangana Ministers stated that “The facility will produce eyewear, lenses, sunglasses, accessories, and other products catering to the Indian market, along with exports to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The plant will create around 2,100 jobs and discussions are ongoing about setting up an R&D center.”
The facility will be located at Fab City, with land already identified and scheduled to be handed over to Lenskart this week. “This is a testament to our policy that ensures speed and ease of business for companies,” Babu said.
Lenskart seeks land from Kemepegowda Bengaluru International Airport
In April 2024, Lenskart co-founder and CEO Peyush Bansal posted on LinkedIn, announcing the company’s search for 25 acres of land to establish a “mega factory” within 60 km of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport.
“Lenskart is seeking 25 acres of land within 60 km of Kempegowda Bengaluru International Airport for the construction of its next mega factory. If any company is interested in selling factory land near Bengaluru airport, please email: megafactory@lenskart.in,” Bansal wrote on LinkedIn at 11:45 am on April 9.
Just minutes later, at 11:48 am, Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil responded on X, sharing a screenshot of the post and writing: “Karnataka is the ideal destination! @peyushbansal @Lenskart_com. The Industries Department is committed to supporting and facilitating all your requirements. Concerned officials will reach out immediately.”
However, the status of the investment has not been updated since then. The Congress party governs both Karnataka and Telangana. Meanwhile, Patil is now leading a European delegation to secure investments for the upcoming Invest Karnataka event in February 2025.
