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New Delhi: In a bid to strengthen India in international market, Tata Group is set to become India’s first homegrown iPhone manufacturer, catering to both domestic and international markets. Electronics and Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar today announced that Tata Group will start manufacturing Apple iPhones in India for domestic and global markets within two and a half years. The significant development comes as Taiwanese electronics maker Wistron Corp has agreed to sell its manufacturing plant in southern India to the group.
The development underscores India’s growing production capacity and marks a significant departure from Apple’s previous strategy of selling mostly Chinese-made new devices to customers around the world.
Mr Chandrashekhar posted on Twitter, “@GoI_MeitY stands in full support of the growth of global Indian electronics companies, which will in turn support global electronics brands who want to make India their trusted manufacturing and talent partner and India Want to realize PM’s goal of making India a global electronics power.”
PM @narendramodi Ji's visionary PLI scheme has already propelled India into becoming a trusted & major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.
Now within just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from… pic.twitter.com/kLryhY7pvL
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) October 27, 2023
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fiscal stimulus to boost local manufacturing and Apple’s strategy to look beyond China amid the Washington-Beijing trade war have seen India become increasingly important to the iPhone maker’s diversification drive. Have helped.
Mr Chandrashekhar said, “PM Modi ji’s visionary PLI scheme has already propelled India to become a reliable and major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.”
The PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme – which aims to boost domestic manufacturing, create jobs and support exports – was announced for 14 sectors in 2021, including large-scale electronic manufacturing, white goods, textiles , including manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles. The sectors with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore include specialty steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemical cell batteries, drones and pharmaceuticals.
Earlier this year, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said Apple exported goods worth $5 billion (roughly Rs. 41,200 crores) from India in 2022, while the company plans to grow its exports from the country by 25 percent over the next four to five years. Global units have to be produced.
Nearly a year of negotiations for the acquisition of a Wistron Corp factory in Karnataka by India’s largest conglomerate have ended.
The 155-year-old group – which sells everything from salt to technology services – has tried to make inroads into electronics production and e-commerce over the past few years.
The company already makes the iPhone chassis, or the metal backbone of the device, at its factory spread over hundreds of acres of land in Tamil Nadu.
