As iPhone manufacturer Apple is ramping up its presence in India, the biggest unit to manufacture Apple iPhone in India will be set up in Hosur near Bengaluru, telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The iPhone manufacturing unit will employ around 60,000 people, news agency PTI reported.
“Apple’s iPhone is now getting made in India and it’s the biggest plant in India is being set up at Hosur near Bengaluru. 60,000 people work in a single factory,” the minister said as quoted in the report.
“The first 6,000 employees of these 60,000 employees are our tribal sisters from places nearby Ranchi and Hazaribagh. Tribal sisters have been trained to make Apple iPhone,” the minister added.
Apple had outsourced the making of iPhone enclosures in India to Tata Electronics’ plant in Hosur.
Considerably, Apple’s largest supplier Foxconn is reportedly looking to quadruple its workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years amid supply chain disruption in China.
The company aims to move a significant portion of its iPhone production capabilities to its Tamil Nadu-based Indian manufacturing unit and it is looking to hire nearly 53,000 more workers.
Currently, Apple’s iPhones are produced in India by its contract manufacturers – Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron.
Apple began manufacturing the latest iPhone 14 variants in India within weeks of its global launch. It further claimed to move 5% of the global manufacturing demand to India by the end of 2022.
It is to be noted that the Indian government launched a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics companies to boost domestic manufacturing in the country.
According to a CMR report, in the second quarter of 2022, Apple shipped nearly 1.2 Mn India-manufactured smartphones – growing 94% YoY.
Apple is looking to move 5% of the global manufacturing demand to India by the end of 2022, making INR 47,000 Cr worth of indigenous iPhones in FY23.