Apple doubles iPhone production in India diversifying from China: Report

Apple assembled USD 14 billion worth of iPhones in India last financial year, doubling production in the country in what could be seen as a diversification in manufacturing beyond China, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The Bloomberg news report quoted people familiar with the matter, declining to be named as the information isn't public, saying that the US tech giant now makes as much as 14 per cent or about one in seven of its devices from India.

The ramp-up in production suggests Apple is accelerating efforts to cut its longstanding reliance on China as geopolitical tensions mount, as per the report. Manufacturing in India has lately taken pick up after the government production-linked incentives for over a dozen key sector. In 2017, Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme by the Central government is also likely to have attracted several gadget makers, including Apple, to set up shop in the country. iPhone manufacturing in India was practically negligible 10 years ago. Apple is now manufacturing its latest iPhone versions in India.

The central government offers a production-linked incentive (PLI) to boost domestic manufacturing and attract significant investments in mobile phone manufacturing and specified electronic components, including Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units. The Scheme is expected to tremendously boost the electronics manufacturing landscape and establish India at the global level in the electronics sector. The government had launched PLI schemes in 14 sectors which will make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain and reduce dependency on imports.