Apple Prepares Domestic Manufacturing Expansion Beyond iPhones in India

Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that consumer technology giant Apple is planning to expand its local manufacturing footprint in India to include laptops, tablets, and wearable devices. The strategic pivot builds on the central government’s newly notified electronics manufacturing incentive scheme, which offers financial top-ups to tech brands producing advanced consumer hardware domestically. The expansion aims to boost domestic value addition and create high-tech engineering jobs across regional assembly corridors. By diversifying manufacturing operations beyond smartphones, Apple aligns its long-term global supply chain strategy with India's emerging hardware manufacturing push. Expanding Production Horizons Beyond the iPhoneBuilding on its rapid industrial scaling across South Asia, Apple Inc. is poised to expand its domestic manufacturing footprint in India beyond iPhone assembly to additional hardware categories. Speaking at a press conference announcing the government’s new ₹62,500-crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed that the Cupertino tech giant is evaluating localized production for iconic product lines like iPads and MacBooks. The strategic diversification follows Apple's successful integration of advanced iPhone assembly—including early-stage trial production for next-generation flagship models—across primary supply partners like Foxconn and the Tata Group. Industry estimates project that India will account for approximately 26 percent of global iPhone production, creating the baseline industrial capacity required to support broader consumer hardware manufacturing. Incentive Frameworks and Deepening Local Value ChainsThe government's newly notified MPMS policy replaces earlier Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) frameworks, running from FY 2026-27 through FY 2030-31 to incentivize deeper domestic value addition and component localization. The five-year program offers global hardware OEMs base sales incentives ranging between 2.25 percent and 5 percent, alongside top-up bonuses of up to 1.5 percent for sourcing critical sub-assemblies—such as display modules, camera housings, enclosures, and battery packs—from domestic suppliers. By incentivizing local R&D and component fabrication, the policy aims to move domestic plants beyond final assembly toward full-stack hardware production. Government data indicates that mobile phone manufacturing in India has grown 33-fold over the past decade, making smartphones the nation's single largest export category. Global Supply Realignment and Multi-Brand EcosystemsApple's prospective expansion reflects a broader shift among multinational technology brands reallocating supply networks from East Asia toward India as a global export node. Alongside Apple, the IT Ministry highlighted that Google is preparing to shift a major portion of its export-oriented Pixel smartphone, smartwatch, and earbud production to India and Vietnam. Furthermore, the MPMS framework incorporates specialized financial incentives for emerging domestic smartphone manufacturers, targeting the rollout of three home-grown mobile brands over the next 10 to 14 months. As contract manufacturers establish localized component ecosystems, advanced manufacturing capabilities across iPads and personal computers solidify India's positioning as a central hardware hub for the global electronics market.