DELHI: Apple’s biggest supplier Foxconn will start manufacturing iPhones in the southern Indian state of Karnataka by April 2024, the government has said.
Foxconn manufactures the majority of Apple’s phones while the project will create around 50,000 jobs, according to the state government. The firm has been making older versions of iPhones at a facility in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu since 2017.
According to the BBC, Taiwan-based Foxconn has been making older versions of iPhones at a facility in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu since 2017. Last month, the company announced it had bought 1.2m sqm of land near Bengaluru city in Karnataka.
Bloomberg reported that Foxconn planned to invest 700m dollars in a new factory in the state. The Karnataka government said the project was valued at $1.59bn.
Land for the factory would be handed over to the company by the first of July, it said in its statement.
According to Reuters, Foxconn has set a target of manufacturing 20 million iPhones a year at the plant in Karnataka.
Apple’s decision to manufacture its flagship model in India and diversify its supply chains away from China comes as trade tensions rise between Washington and Beijing.
Apple makes most of its phones in China. In India, iPhones are assembled by many Apple suppliers, including Foxconn. It currently accounts for 5 per cent of total iPhone production.
The company struggled to compete in the Indian market, dominated by the cheaper South Korean and Chinese smartphones.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was in India in April to launch the country’s first two Apple stores.
