How 175-year-old Corning is supporting India’s manufacturing future with glass innovations

A mobile device, a vaccine vial, a village Wi-Fi line, a TV show—four everyday scenes that may not be directly connected. Yet each depends on the one thing most of us never think about: advanced glass from a 175-year-old cornerstone company.

India’s manufacturing story usually spotlights big-ticket sectors like smartphones, semiconductors, vaccines, and data centres. But behind them is a quiet foundation built from glass, ceramics, and material science.

Fibre: Digital India’s backbone

In 2012, we set up our optical fibre manufacturing plant in Chakan, near Pune, our first factory in the country.

Picture a strand thinner than a human hair, carrying pulses of light that become Microsoft Teams calls, digital payments, and cricket streams. Fibre lines run under roads and across fields, linking mobile towers, schools, and data centres.

As AI-ready data centres spread across India, the need for low-latency, high-capacity networks grows fast. That’s why Corning has begun contract manufacturing certain data centre and enterprise connectivity products in India so banks, telecoms, and cloud operators can source robust gear locally. The goal is simple: reliable networks, shorter supply chains, and faster deployments.

Healthcare: The role of a vaccine vial

During Covid, the world learned that vaccines are not just about formulas and factories; they also need millions of sterile, strong vials. Many countries ran short.

In partnership with SGD Pharma, Corning invested in setting up a new glass-tubing facility near Hyderabad. This plant will produce high-quality Type I borosilicate glass tubing for vials and injectable drugs critical for vaccines and biologics. Why this glass? It resists heat and chemicals and keeps sensitive drugs stable.

Add Corning® Velocity® Vials coating technology to that vial, and manufacturers can reduce defects like breakage or surface interactions. More good vials per hour means more doses filled, fewer rejects, and faster delivery. For Indian pharma, already the “pharmacy of the world," these small process improvements add up to real outcomes: steadier supply, better quality, and less waste.

Engineering cleaner air, every day:

For more than 25 years, Corning has been at the forefront of enabling cleaner air in India, powering the technologies that help make mobility more sustainable. At the core of modern emission control systems, its advanced solutions are designed to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles at scale. Rooted in a long-standing commitment to clean air, Corning continues to support India’s progress towards healthier cities and a better quality of life for millions, every single day.

Smartphones: Why some screens survive falls

If you’ve dropped your phone and it lived to tell the tale, toughened glass helped. As global OEMs deepen their India manufacturing footprint, Corning is building the glass ecosystem that underpins it. Our partnership in Bharat Innovative Glass Technologies (BIG Tech) in Tamil Nadu focuses on glass finishing operations for Corning® Gorilla® Glass, a chemically strengthened cover material that has protected billions of smartphones worldwide.

Looking ahead: Display glass

The government plans aim for a full display ecosystem in the region, from assembly to core components. High-end display glass is one of those components. Corning’s disciplined growth strategy enables us to scale capacity in alignment with customer demand, and – with the support of government partners – ensure a balanced and reliable supply for the market. Corning continues to evaluate the Indian market and hone the global expertise and leading glass technologies that would support this vision.

Combining intelligence and technical capability

Factories are one part of the story. Another is talent. Corning’s Research Centre in Pune, Digital & IT Centre, and Finance Centre of Excellence support global projects from India. Imagine a young engineer in Pune modelling stress in new sensor glass, or an IT professional optimising fibre network tools used worldwide. These jobs let Indian talent work on frontier problems without leaving the country.

India’s next decade will benefit companies that act as ecosystem builders, bringing deep technology, reliable supply, and global linkages. Corning is one such cornerstone company in this foundation. Its role isn’t centre stage; it works behind the scenes: fibres that move data faster, vials that reduce medicine waste, family watching a TV show together, and glass that protects the devices we use every day.

The article has been written by Sudhir Pillai, managing director, Corning India, Middle East & Africa.

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