India Gearing Up To Produce iPads, MacBooks After Successfully Assembling iPhones: Report

After witnessing the successful production of several iPhone models in the country, India is set to start local production of iPads and MacBooks.

After witnessing the successful production of several iPhone models in the country, India is set to start local production of iPads and MacBooks. The Indian government is set to sweeten the deal to kickstart the production of iPads and MacBooks and broad-base the production-linked PLI scheme, says a report by The Times of India.

Top sources in the IT ministry said the government wants Apple’s manufacturing eco-system to grow by leaps and bounds in the country at a time when the American electronics giant looks at a China-plus-one strategy when it comes to global procurement of products, the TOI report added.

“We feel the earlier scheme was not sufficient to meet the disability that companies would have if they manufactured in India. Thus, with an enhanced incentive plan and a larger fund outlay, the new scheme will surely prompt companies to invest and also make in India,” the report quoted a source as saying.

Apple is already working towards beefing up production of iPhone models in the country -- the Cupertino-headquartered tech giant has been witnessing Covid-related supply chain issues in China. Meanwhile, the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) recently said that some of Apple suppliers have applied for land with the authority, with a proposed investment of Rs 2,800 crore while generating thousands of jobs.

The Apple suppliers, along with a known camera parts maker, proposed to set up a unit on about 23 acres of land with a proposed investment of Rs 2,800 crore, a report claimed. iPhone currently has three assembly partners in India: Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron and all of them are participating in the PLI scheme and their production is expected to grow in the coming years. 

It should be noted that Apple launched the iPhone 14 models in September and the company began assembling the new iPhone 14 in the country, 10 days after the global launch of the iPhone 14 series, thus, highlighting Apple’s decreasing dependability on China, or at least an attempt to do that.

Meanwhile, Indian export of Apple Inc's iPhones crossed $1 billion within five months since April. According to a Bloomberg report that cites experts, iPhone exports from India, mainly to Europe and the Middle East is set to reach $2.5 billion in the 12 months through March 2023 at the current rate.

While India's output of iPhones is only a small fraction, experts believe this will give an impetus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's plan to make India the alternative to China as a factory to the world.