According to the Economic Times, the number of iPhones exported from India rose by Rs 10,000 crore in May of this year. The India Cellular and Electronics Association says that smartphone exports topped Rs 20,000 crore in April and May 2023. This is more than double the amount (Rs 9,066 crore) that they were at the same time last year.
As the company stepped up production of its devices in India, the number of iPhones exported from India went up by almost four times to more than $5 billion in FY2023.
The Cupertino-based business is making its supply lines outside of China more diverse and expanding its position in India, which could make it the new hub for high-end phones.
Due to political tensions between the US and China and New Delhi’s bold production-linked incentive (PLI) plan for iPhones, Apple Inc. is slowly turning its attention to India.
India sends smartphones to countries that are still growing, like the UK, Italy, France, the Middle East, Japan, Germany, and Russia.
In January 2016, Apple asked the Indian government for permission to open its own shops there. In the same year, India made it easier for foreign businesses to invest in the country. This made it possible for Apple and IKEA to open stores there.
Apple Inc. opened its first online store there in September 2020.
In April of this year, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, went to India for the opening of two Apple shops in Mumbai and New Delhi.
India is currently responsible for making about 5–7% of all the parts that go into Apple products. Analysts at JP Morgan think that Apple will increase its manufacturing capacity in India so that by 2025, 25% of all iPhones will be made there. Apple has 1 million people working for it in India. Sources say that this number is likely to reach 2 lakh in the next few years.
Cook is sure that India will be a good place to work for a long time.
After the meeting with Prime Minister Modi in April this year, Tim Cook tweeted, “Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India’s future — from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we’re committed to growing and investing across the country.”
