Make in India: Apple starts making iphone 11 in Foxconn's Chennai plant

There is no clarity on price cuts but manufacturing in India saves Apple 22% on duties

In a boost to Make in India campaign, Apple has started manufacturing iPhone 11 in India, reported Economic Times. Apple is manufacturing its flagship phone in Foxconn's Chennai plant. This is the first time that Apple has brought manufacturing of its flagship phone to India.

This move gives a great push to Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. It also reduces Apple's dependence on China. Production will be stepped up to export India-made iPhones. There is no clarity on price cuts but manufacturing in India saves Apple 22 per cent in duties, said the report. 

Apple is said to be considering a plan to make the new iPhone SE at the Wistron plant near Bengaluru, the executives told Economic Times. The unit used to produce the earlier iPhone SE, which was been withdrawn. Apple is keen on taking advantage of the government's production-linked incentive scheme by moving manufacturing to India. 

Taiwan's Foxconn is planning further investment in India and may announce details in the next few months as the world's largest contract manufacturer views the outlook there very favourably, its chairman said.

Foxconn already makes smartphones in India for Apple Inc and Xiaomi Corp, though in March it suspended production due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Chairman Liu Young-way told Foxconn's annual general meeting that looking ahead, India was a bright spot for development even though there was a "certain impact" at present due to the virus.

"We are fully pushing ahead with next steps there, and maybe in a few months' time we can reveal on our website the next steps and report back to everyone. We'll have further investment there," Liu said, without detailing plans or reasons for the firm's view on the business outlook in India.