India has become a major smartphone market for US phone maker Apple. The Cupertino-based tech giant has created over one lakh direct jobs in manufacturing in the past two years in the country, said Minister of State, Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
About 70 per cent of the said jobs are taken up by women in the age bracket of 19-24 years, who are starting their careers, acquiring skills and improving the ease of living for their families.
Apple CEO Tim Cook recently opened the company’s first two retail stores in India, Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18 and Apple Saket in New Delhi on April 20. The company has tripled its production in India in the last couple of years. Apple now manufactures 7 per cent of its total iPhones in India. In 2021, the production was just 1 per cent.
India has become the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. The iPhone export from India has risen to over $5 billion in FY23. In addition, the country’s overall smartphone exports crossed $10 billion for the first time in a financial year. Reports say that Apple will begin manufacturing around 25 per cent of iPhones in India by 2025. The tech giant is likely to launch its impending iPhones in India at the same time as China. This will be the first time that the assembly of iPhones will begin in the two countries simultaneously.
