An Indian government panel has cleared applications from iPhone contract makers Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron, along with Samsung, Karbonn, Lava and Dixon to export mobile phones worth around $100 billion (Rs 7.3 lakh crore) from India. Now these applications will be taken up by the Cabinet of Ministers for a formal approval.
The application has been okayed by the 'Empowered Committee', which consists of Niti Aayog CEO, the secretaries of economic affairs, expenditure, revenue, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
According to a report in the Economic Times, “the empowered committee has approved all applications estimated to export around $100 billion (Rs 7.3 lakh crore) worth mobile phones under the production linked incentive scheme (PLI) and all the applications will be placed before the cabinet probably this week.”
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PLI scheme on the right path
Shows fast decision making by @narendramodi Govt. India remains a trustworthy electronics manufacturing hub. It will create lakhs of jobs & promote ancillary industry. Great to see leading companies including manufacturers of Apple are relocating to India.https://t.co/YRatyuqmAjSeptember 7, 2020
The obvious aim of the PLI scheme is to provide impetus to mobile phones manufacturing in India, and make it a production hub for smartphones. The scheme has had good response so far. Apple, for instance, is set to produce its latest models iPhone 11 and iPhone SE in India. The scheme hopes to attract manufacturers who are looking to move out of China owing to the US-China trade row.
Communications & IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the "extraordinary" response to the PLI shows the enormous trust of the global community in India's manufacturing capability and leadership of PM Modi."
Apple, Samsung lead the pack
The news report says five of the applicants are overseas companies, while seven are Indian and six are in the components manufacturing scheme.
Apple and Samsung plan to export phones worth $50 billion each over the next five years. There are also five Indian phone makers including Micromax, Lava, Karbonn, Optiemus and Dixon.
Apple, which was China-focused for long for its production, seems to be now turning towards India. Apple is reportedly planning to source the iPhone 12 series from its contract manufacturer Wistron's unit near Bengaluru in India. The new ‘Made in India’ iPhone 12 models will be ready by the middle of next year.
The company already has another facility in Peenya in Bengaluru where it assembles other iPhones, and this is its second facility. The Wistron plant in Narasapura, near Bengaluru, received Rs 1,600 crore in September, up from a planned Rs 900 crore. The plant was already in function with a preliminary 2,000 workers but Wistron has been slowly shifting its focus to India from China.
Samsung that exports around $2.5 billion phones from India is all set to ramp up its production. Samsung is contemplating a plan that would make India its production hub.
Source: Economic Times
