NEW DELHI: As the US tech giant Apple is eyeing to expand its manufacturing capacity in India from 5-7% to 25%, the government on Friday said it is in regular touch with the company to support its business.India has gained from Apple’s efforts to shift some of its productions out of China, which currently produces 85% of iPhones.
In 2022, its plants in China faced a complete shutdown due to China’s zero-Covid policy. Also, the simmering tension between the US and the Chinese government has forced the American technology companies to shift their base to India or Vietnam.
“Apple is continuously expanding their operations in India... We are in regular touch with Apple, MeITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) is also in touch with them... We hand-hold them because in a way, the eyes of the whole world are fixed on Apple,” said the minister.
According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), the iPhone maker captured 4% market share in the country with a 17% year-on-year increase in its shipments in 2022. It sold nearly 6.7 million units in 2022, as against 4.8 million in 2021 and 2.7 million in 2020. The Cupertino-based company has started
assembling the latest iPhone 14 models in India, weeks after its launch.
Apple CEO Tim Cook in an earnings call in February 2023 said that India is a hugely exciting market for Apple and is a major focus. The company actually did fairly well through COVID in India.The firm on 11 April announced the opening dates of its first two retail stores in India ~ Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18 and Apple Saket in Delhi on April 20.
As per the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), in March 2023, Apple made record exports of iPhones from India at $1.14 billion (over Rs 8,200 crore), surpassing its earlier record export in December 2022. It has surpassed exports of Rs 40,000 crore in FY23, which is four times up from the last year.
Growth in Apple’s footprint in India can be attributed to the Rs 40,951 crore PLI scheme for smartphones. In India, Apple’s iPhones are manufactured by its contract manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, and all of them are part of the PLI scheme.