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Modi, Foxconn chair discuss latter's investment plans for

India

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India is probing possible hiring bias at Foxconn India

plant

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Probe followed a Reuters report on biased hiring practices

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Modi's X post did not say if probe was addressed at

meeting

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi met Foxconn Chairman Young Liu to discuss the

latter's investment plans on Wednesday, weeks after New Delhi

started investigating possible discriminatory hiring practices

at a Foxconn plant following a Reuters report.

Modi "highlighted the wonderful opportunities India offers

in futuristic sectors" to Liu at the meeting, he said in a post

on X that included photos of the pair.

"We also had excellent discussions on their investment plans

in India in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra

Pradesh," Modi wrote.

Modi sees Foxconn's iPhone factory in India and

Apple's ( AAPL ) expansion of its supply chain in the South

Asian nation, beyond China, as potentially helping the world's

most populous country move up the economic-value chain.

A Reuters investigation published in June found that Foxconn

excluded married women from assembly jobs at its main Indian

iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu state. Foxconn acknowledged some

lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said it had worked to

address the issues, but said it "vigorously refutes allegations

of employment discrimination."

Taiwan's Foxconn in recent years has expanded in India,

where it makes iPhones and products for other smartphone brands,

and has plans to move into AirPods and chipmaking.

Still, Foxconn withdrew in July last year from a $19.5

billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate

Vedanta, in a setback to Modi's chipmaking plans for India.

Modi's government ordered Tamil Nadu to provide a "detailed

report" and government officials visited the Foxconn factory to

question executives about hiring practices, but New Delhi has

not yet released any findings.

Modi's post on X on Wednesday did not address any of those

issues and the prime minister's office did not immediately

respond to an email seeking details about the talks.