Apple has been assembling its iPhones in India for the past few years and now, it seems like the tech giant is working to start production of the iPad lineup in the country. The Cupertino, California-headquartered tech giant has been in talks with Indian officials for locating some iPad manufacturing in the country, the media has reported.
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This comes as relations between the US and China have turned sour and the latter’s zero Covid restrictions that have disrupted supply chains. Apple’s largest contract manufacturer Foxconn employs almost two lakh people at its iPhone plant, the world’s biggest, in Zhengzhou, China, which has been recently hit by workers’ unrest over strict Covid-19 measures within the site.
India is exploring options to bring some of Apple’s iPad production to the country from China, says a report by CNBC, which cited two sources close to the Indian government. The tech giant is said to be holding ongoing discussions with officials. No concrete plans have been made, but if the effort is successful, it would expand Apple’s footprint in the country, the report added.
To recall, Apple had announced earlier this year that it has already started assembling this year’s iPhone 14 at a plant in the southern part of the country. Apple also manufactures some older iPhone models in the country.
Meanwhile, earlier in November, Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that India is set to get the biggest iPhone manufacturing plant in Hosur in Bengaluru. The Hosur iPhone manufacturing unit will employ around 60,000 people. Apple has outsourced the manufacturing of iPhone enclosures to Tata Electronics, which has a plant at Hosur, reports said.
This comes after a report by news agency Reuters that said iPhone supplier Foxconn is planning to expand its capacity in India by at least four times in the next two years. Apple iPhone models in India are manufactured by its three manufacturing partners Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron.
“Apple’s iPhone is now getting made in India and it’s the biggest plant in India is being set up at Hosur near Bengaluru. 60,000 people work in a single factory. The first 6,000 employees of these 60,000 employees are our tribal sisters from places nearby Ranchi and Hazaribagh. Tribal sisters have been trained to make Apple iPhone,” the Vaishnaw was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.