iPhone makers are said to be among winners in US$6.6 billion India plan

The Indian government is expected to ratify a plan aimed at bringing US$150 billion in smartphone production over the next five years

The Production Linked Incentive programme will offer manufacturing incentives to entice the world’s biggest smartphone brands to make their products in India and export to the world

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When Apple’s major iPhone contract manufacturing partners move significant production to India, an entire ecosystem of hi-tech suppliers is expected to follow them. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 1:30pm, 14 Sep 2020Updated: 1:29pm, 14 Sep 2020

Apple’s major iPhone assemblers are among the companies expected to win approval to participate in a US$6.6 billion stimulus programme to bring manufacturing to India, according to people familiar with the matter, a potentially seismic shift as the world’s most valuable company diversifies beyond China.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Indian government is expected to approve a plan aimed at bringing US$150 billion in smartphone production over the next five years, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Among the dozen smartphone manufacturers already cleared by a high-powered government committee are Apple’s primary supplier Foxconn Technology Group, which had submitted two applications, and peers Wistron Corp and Pegatron Corp, the people said. The three companies make virtually every iPhone sold globally in sprawling factories currently located mainly in China.

Under the Production Linked Incentive programme, or PLI as it is called, manufacturing incentives will rise each year in an ongoing effort to entice the world’s biggest smartphone brands to make their products in India and export to the world.

Workers are seen at a smartphone factory of Foxconn Technology Group in Guiyang, capital of southwest China’s Guizhou province. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, as well as peers Wistron Corp and Pegatron Corp make virtually every iPhone sold globally in sprawling factories located in mainland China. Photo: EPA-EFE

Besides the Apple contractors, Samsung Electronics is the only other applicant for the five slots allotted to foreign companies. China’s largest smartphone makers Huawei Technologies and BBK Group, which manufactures brands like Oppo and Vivo, are conspicuous by their absence.

Amid rising trade and political tensions between Washington and Beijing, India is betting that many global brands will be keen to reduce their dependence on China. If successful, the programme could set in motion a shift in electronics manufacturing in the next five years.

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