Apple is expected to have a quarter of all iPhones made in India by 2028, according to the country’s IT minister.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted the tidbit, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and adding: “Apple is moving to deepen the ecosystem by building a network of local vendors.”
He included a screenshot of a local media report.
That report claims Apple has already begun work on building supply chains, even as a majority of its production will be undertaken by Taiwan’s Foxconn and Tata Electronics, both of which have a presence in India. Foxconn is considered Apple’s largest contract manufacturer.
In January of last year, India was responsible for only 5–7 percent of Apple’s manufacturing – but by the end of 2023, 14 percent of iPhone production was handled there.
India currently produces the iPhone 12, 13, 14, and 15.
PM Modi’s PLI scheme is aimed at drawing in manufacturing in certain sectors through incentives and subsidies – including those relevant to Apple’s electronics manufacturing sector.
The scheme conveniently aligns with Apple’s plan of diversifying its supply chain beyond China. The consumer tech titan has in recent years also expanded manufacturing to Vietnam.
Prior to COVID and its factory shutdowns, it was estimated by market research firm Counterpoint that Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory produced 85 percent of all iPhones.
Back in January 2023, India’s minister of commerce and industry, Piyush Goyal, claimed Apple was targeting “up to 25 percent.” It’s not understood if that means 25 percent is a hard stop, or if the transfer of production lines will continue to charge forward. ®
