After iPhone success, Apple may start production of laptops and tablets in India

After charting a success story for its iPhones in India, will Apple Inc consider production of its other products such as tablets and laptops in India as the company looks to find new markets to set up manufacturing facilities? An industry insider said that while the tech giant has not spelt out such plans, “the possibility of the company starting production of its other products in the near future cannot be ruled out after it tasted success with its iphones.”

The company has been assembling its smartphones, through its contract manufacturers, in India since 2017 but the manufacturing facilities was limited to entry-level or legacy handsets. Since last year, Apple started assembling the high-end iPhone 14 models in India. Between April and December, 2022, exports of the India-made iPhone stood at $2.5 billion about twice compared to the previous financial year’s total.

India Briefing, a platform providing news and analysis for investors, said that while Apple could move the production of additional products from its portfolio, such as tablets, earphones, or laptops, to India, “the decision will face stiff competition from Southeast Asian production hubs.”

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced an outlay of Rs 1.97 Lakh Crores for the Centre’s game changing Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes across 14 key sectors. This is expected to create national manufacturing hubs and add 60 lakh new jobs during next 5 years.

The PLI scheme incentivises domestic production in strategic growth sectors where India has comparative advantage, the statement said, adding that the scheme is expected to generate significant gains for production and employment, with benefits extending to the MSME eco-system.

“India needs to act fast as it tries to position itself as the global manufacturing hub. Several other countries in Southeast Asia and even Bangladesh are also jostling to grab a bigger pie of the manufacturing piece. We need to remember that,” the industry insider said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underlined the need to make India the global factory and an export hub, something that will create huge employment opportunities across the country.

According to Bloomberg, Modi is closer than any predecessor to being able to claim that the nation — which may have just passed China as the world’s most populous — is finally meeting its economic potential. “To get there, he’ll have to wrestle with the drawbacks of its exceptional scale: the remnants of the red tape and corruption that has slowed India’s rise, and the stark inequality that defines the democracy of 1.4 billion people,” it said.

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