UPS was discussing parcel-tracking tag production with Indian state governments and prospective partners, its chief digital and technology officer Bala Subramanian told Reuters on 29 May 2024. He linked the proposal to India's semiconductor investment. The company had no manufacturing capability in India at the time; neither an investment amount nor a production start date was disclosed.
RFID deployment in the delivery network
The proposal concerned radio-frequency identification tags used for tracking packages. Separately, UPS's presentation for its 23 April 2024 earnings call described the second phase of its Smart Package Smart Facility programme. The stated equipment programme was to install RFID readers in more than 40,000 United States package-delivery vehicles during 2024. That figure described a planned reader rollout, not the production capacity of the proposed Indian operation.
Existing technology operations in Chennai
UPS had announced the opening of its Chennai technology centre on 28 August 2023. In that announcement, Subramanian identified artificial intelligence, automation and robotics as areas supporting the company's logistics technology development. The centre complemented technology teams in the United States and Europe. UPS also committed to community workshops offering training and career counselling, with particular attention to women and people from rural areas.
The earlier India investment plan
The technology-centre programme had been outlined in a separate announcement on 1 March 2023. Its published commitments included:
- An investment of $15–20 million to extend the company's technology-centre network into India.
- Approximately 1,000 expected hires by the end of 2025.
- Chennai as the first planned location, with additional locations to follow.
Those figures belonged to the technology-centre programme, not a budget or staffing announcement for manufacturing tracking tags.
Company and current media contact
UPS. Its current newsroom lists pr@ups.com and +1-404-828-7123 for media enquiries, with directions for urgent out-of-hours requests. Website: https://www.ups.com/. These are present-day press contacts, not customer parcel-support details.