India to make up 7% of iPhones assembled in the world, say experts

Apple Inc’s three vendors in India have assembled iPhones whose free on board (FOB) value hit $7 billion (Rs 60,000 crore) for FY23, including both for exports and domestically. The data is based on details provided by the vendors — Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron — to the government.

According to estimates by experts, in the second year of the production-linked investment (PIL) scheme for mobile devices, India will account for around 7 per cent of all iPhones assembled in the world. Its commitment, based on PLI targets, is to shift 12-18 per cent of the global production volume to India by the end of the scheme. In FY22 (which was for a period of eight months), the Apple vendors (Pegatron had not started assembly yet) had assembled iPhones worth around Rs 16,500 crore, nearly a fourth of what they have achieved this financial year.

According to the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, Apple has hit exports of Rs 41,000 crore ($5 billion) from India, so the remainder ($2 billion) was for meeting a large part of the domestic demand. According to estimates, around 85 per cent of iPhones sold in India are now made in the country.

An Apple spokesperson did not respond to queries on the data.

Under the PLI in FY23, the collective commitment of Apple vendors to be eligible for the scheme was to produce phones with an FOB value of Rs 24,000 crore but it could increase its production with a cap of Rs 45,000 crore. The three vendors have gone over the cap.

However, with many other eligible PLI players not expected to achieve their investment or production targets in the second year of the scheme, the money earmarked under it can be shifted to Apple vendors.

According to commitments made by the vendors, in FY26 (the last year of the PLI scheme) the three have to produce iPhones of a minimum value of $9 billion to be eligible for incentive but they can increase overall production to an FOB value of up to $15 billion. Again, the scheme offers a leeway where the incentives can be shifted to Apple vendors in case of failure by even one among the other two eligible players — Samsung and Bharat FIH — which can go up to US $ 20 billion.