PLI booster: Apple ecosystem to create 5-6 lakh jobs in India

NEW DELHI — Riding on robust local production as iPhone manufacturing plants in India continue to create new export records each month, Apple is all set to create 5-6 lakh jobs (direct and indirect) in the coming 1-2 years.

As iPhone exports continue to clock around $1 billion each month thanks to the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the tech giant employs about 2 lakh people, dominated by women employees, across its supply chain that includes vendors and component suppliers, according to industry sources.

Tata Electronics, which runs two plants for Apple, is the biggest job creator in the Apple ecosystem, along with Foxconn and Pegatron.

Mobile manufacturing has been a leading force in job creation in the last 10 years, as the government aims to make India a global manufacturing hub.

Also read: India’s textile exports to touch $65 billion by 2025-26: Invest India

According to the government, in the ecosystem of Apple alone, more than 2 lakh people have got employment and there is good amount of growth.

iPhone factories in the country are set to hire more than 10,000 people directly in the peak festival period. Apple is doubling down on investing in India and is reportedly in advanced talks with Tata Group's Titan Company and Murugappa Group to assemble sub-components for phone camera modules.

Apple aims to manufacture more than 50 million iPhones in India per year, as it aims to shift some of the production out from China.

The iPhone exports from India surged sharply to $12.1 billion in 2023-24 from $6.27 billion in 2022-23. Overall, the company’s India operations reached 23.5 billion dollars in value in the last fiscal (FY24), further cementing the country’s position as a viable alternative to China and Vietnam when it comes to electronics manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Tata Group is geared up for a new iPhone assembly plant in the country that is likely to become operational in the festive quarter. The iPhone unit by Tata is being built in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The iPhone facility is expected to employ over 50,000 workers, mostly women.

Apple has already begun to train thousands of workers at its factory in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu (operated by Foxconn) for launching latest iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models in the country post the global debut this fall.