Apple’s Decision To Source iPhones From India Reflects Growing OEM Confidence: Jyotiraditya Scindia
Scindia added that the government’s production-linked incentive or PLI scheme has significantly boosted growth in India’s telecom equipment market.
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that investing in India now makes strong economic sense for every original equipment manufacturer or OEM, citing Apple’s growing shift to Indian manufacturing as a key example. Speaking at the Bharat Telecom event, Scindia noted that Apple plans to produce all its mobile phones in India in the coming years.
"When you invest in India, you are choosing affordability, you are choosing reliability, you are choosing originality," Scindia said.
During the company's recent earnings call, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had announced that the company will source the majority of the iPhones sold in the US from India in the June quarter. China will produce the vast majority of the devices for other markets amid uncertainty over tax tariffs, he had said.
Scindia added that the government’s production-linked incentive scheme has significantly boosted growth in India’s telecom equipment market.
"Investment of Rs 4,000 crore, half a billion dollars alone, has resulted in sales of Rs 80,000 crore, Rs 16,000 crore in exports, (and) 25,000 jobs being created. Therefore, the telecom equipment market has also grown manifold in India," Scindia said.
From being a large importer of mobile phones, around 2014, India has now become a large producer and exporter of mobile phones, said Minister of State for Telecommunications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani.
India's mobile phone industry has transformed from making 60 lakh units and importing 21 crore mobile phones in 2014 to a total production of 33 crore mobile phones in 2024 and 5 crore units of exports, he said.
"Further, if you look around the global iPhone output, 15% of that iPhone output today comes from India," Pemmasani said.
According to market research firm IDC, Apple supplied 23.21 crore iPhones across the globe.
Pemmasani said the semiconductor mission is transforming India into a global hub for electronics, system design and manufacturing.
"The establishment of semiconductor fabrication facilities on Indian soil marks a watershed moment in our technological sovereignty," Pemmasani said.
(With inputs from PTI).
