Foxconn to begin manufacturing iPhones in Bangalore by April 2024

Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn, a key Apple supplier, will start manufacturing iPhones in Bengaluru by April 2024. 

The announcement came after Karnataka’s IT Minister Priyank Kharge and minister for large and medium industries MB Patil met Foxconn executives on Thursday. 

The Karnataka government will hand over 300 acres of land, 5 million litres per day of water, quality power supply, road connectivity and other infrastructure facilities to the company by July 1, 2023, Patil said.  

With this, the new government has speeded up the process of the ₹13,600 crore project that is expected to create 50,000 jobs, according to an official release. 

“The company has been asked to provide the details of the skill sets it seeks in employees. Accordingly, steps will be taken to facilitate training programmes for eligible candidates to make them employable,” said Patil.

Till date, Foxconn has paid 30% of the cost of the land (₹90 crore) to Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, the release said.  

The electronics company has set the goal to complete the project in three faces and has set a target of manufacturing 20 million units (2 crore units) annually from the plant after the completion of three phases, it added. 

Last month, Foxconn informed that it had bought a huge tract of land in Bangalore. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the company said it had acquired 1.2 million-square-meter (13 million-square-foot) land in Devanahalli, near the airport for Bengaluru. 

In March, former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also said that Apple would "soon" manufacture iPhones at a new plant that would create "about 100,000 jobs". 

The development comes at a time when Apple is looking to diversify its production outside of China and has scaled up its investments in India. According to a Bloomberg report published on March 3, Apple plans to shift at least 25% of its manufacturing to India.

Notably, in April, Apple opened its first retail stores in India. The company launched two stores - one in Delhi, and another in Mumbai.  

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in April said that India was on its way to becoming a global leader in the mobile devices segment. A report by India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) published in the same month further noted that mobile phone exports from India reached close to $11.12 billion with iPhone maker Apple accounting for around half of the total exports.