Says Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, as Apple shifts iPhone production for the US to India, India is calling the shots in tech with this manufacturing milestone.
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday highlighted India’s rising significance in global manufacturing, citing Apple’s move to produce the majority of iPhones sold in the US from Indian facilities.
Speaking at the Bharat Telecom event, Scindia said India has become an economically viable destination for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), not just a goodwill choice.
“When you invest in India, you are choosing affordability, reliability and originality,” he said, according to a report by The Economic Times.
During an earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently announced that iPhones destined for the US market would primarily be manufactured in India starting from the June quarter. China will continue to supply most devices for other regions amid ongoing tariff uncertainties.
Scindia credited the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for driving massive growth in telecom equipment manufacturing. He noted that an investment of ₹40 billion had led to ₹800 billion in sales, ₹160 billion in exports, and the creation of 25,000 jobs.
India’s telecom infrastructure has also expanded rapidly. Within just 21 months, telecom operators have installed 470,000 towers with an investment of ₹4 trillion, fuelling the 5G rollout. Scindia attributed this progress to visionary leadership and bold policy reforms.
He added that India now produces products that are not only made locally but are also designed, developed, and delivered from within the country.
Minister of State for Telecommunications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani echoed these sentiments. He stated that India has moved from being a major importer of mobile phones in 2014 to becoming a leading exporter. Mobile production has surged from six million units a decade ago to 330 million in 2024, with 50 million units exported.
Pemmasani also revealed that India now contributes 15% of the global iPhone output, citing figures from IDC, which recorded 232.1 million global iPhone shipments.
He said the ongoing semiconductor mission aims to make India a global hub for electronics, design, and manufacturing. Establishing chip fabrication units is seen as a landmark step toward technological self-reliance.
