India-based Reliance Industries reportedly is in talks with Google to jointly develop an ultra-low-priced smartphone, likely to be dubbed JioPhone Next, according to a local media report.

Reliance may outsource the production of the JioPhone Next to either Flex or local EMS firm, UTL Neolynos, the Swarajya has reported.

Although Flex is not eligible for India's PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme, the EMS firm has established production sites in many locations in India, with the Flex Chennai Industrial Park 3 being its most up-to-date production lines in the country, said the report.

On the other hand, UTL Neolynos is one of the local handset makers in the PLI scheme and already a production partner of set-top boxes (STBs) for Jio Platforms, a mobile network and digital service provider under Reliance Industries.

Reliance Jio, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, is currently the largest mobile service operator in India, having 430 million subscribers for its mobile services.

The report cited data from Counterpoint Research as indicating that India has 320 million feature phone users who may switch to smartphone models, 150 million people who do not own a mobile phone, and 50 million who currently use second-hand or older models of smartphones.