Apple’s production of iPhones in India seems to be doing well as it has surpassed the $10-billion mark during the ten-month period of April to January in the current fiscal year.
A Clear Win For Apple
The development is to the extent that it is nearly 30% higher than the $7-billion production by the tech giant in FY23.
It appears that over 70% of its total production has been exported to countries in Europe, the US and Asia, said the sources.
Besides this, the present fiscal year holds a great significance as this is also the first year where Apple is averaging over $1 billion of production each month as compared to $620 million per month in FY23.
Apple could achieve these numbers with the help of its three vendors – Foxconn Hon Hai, Pegatron, both in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron, which is now owned by the Tata Group, located in Karnataka.
Over 70% – of the total production, a lion’s share has been contributed by Foxconn Hon Hai, as per the industry data and information filed by the vendors.
The remaining 30% is contributed by the Pegatron and Wistron together.
Most Successful PLI Scheme
For the unawares, all these three companies are participants in the government’s smartphone production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
So far, this scheme is considered to be the most successful of all 14 PLI schemes.
These schemes are applicable on multiple accounts – incremental production over the base year 2019-20, exports, job creation and investments.
Under the five-year tenure of the PLI scheme, these three Apple vendors are required to invest Rs 1,000 crore each.
Fortunately, all the three vendors are ahead of their original investment schedules.
In case of Foxconn Hon Hai, it has already qualified for the PLI incentive for FY24.
While the other two, Pegatron and Wistron are expected to cross the threshold of a minimum Rs 15,000-crore production by the end of the current month.
It appears that all three companies will individually qualify for PLI in the third year effectively.
At the same time, Foxconn is expected to top the threshold.
Besides these three, there are other Apple’s vendors including Samsung and Bharat FIH – another Foxconn company – are significant participants in the smartphone PLI scheme.
Apart from these companies, some domestic players including Lava, Bhagwati (Micromax), Padget Electronics (Dixon), UTL Neolyncs and Optiemus Electronics are also participating in this scheme.
So far, Apple’s vendors and Samsung have been leading the production in the international companies segment.
If we go through the timelines, this five-year PLI scheme started in 2020 and will end in 2026.
During this period, each company had the flexibility to choose any five consecutive years.
It seems that the big global electronics firms are now preparing to set up mega campuses in the country after setting up their manufacturing operations in the country, said Communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent media report.
Further, these campuses will have a cluster of factories producing a range of their products.
