Nokia recently announced that its manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur, Chennai has crossed production of 500 million handsets, marking a milestone for the company’s manufacturing operations in India and globally. The milestone was achieved in five years of its operations, marking Chennai’s ramp-up among the fastest globally.

“We have created a unique record across the world – this is not only a proud moment for us at Nokia, but a major highlight in India’s young and rising electronics manufacturing industry,” remarked Prakash Katama, director, Chennai factory operations, Nokia India.

As part of its celebrations, the company today announced that the 500th million phone – C3-00 – will be autographed by Shahrukh Khan (brand ambassador), and be available for auction to consumers through Nokia India’s portal

The proceeds from the auction will be donated to a charity. The auction will begin today and end on 15th May 2011. The highest bidder also gets to watch the IPL 4 cricket match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians in Kolkata on May 22, 2011, in addition to receiving the device from Khan, informed the company. Interestingly, the company announced that all the employees at Chennai manufacturing facility will be gifted with a C3-00.

Nokia operates 10 manufacturing facilities in 9 countries around the world and recently announced its 11th manufacturing site in Vietnam as part of its global manufacturing network.