The Tata Group is gearing up to establish one of India’s largest iPhone assembly plants, in line with Apple’s strategy to escalate its manufacturing footprint in South Asia. This ambitious project, poised for construction in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, is anticipated to house around 20 assembly lines and employ approximately 50,000 workers within the next two years. The objective is to have the plant fully operational within 12 to 18 months.

What Happened? According to a Bloomberg report, this new facility is a significant move for Apple, helping to diversify its production base beyond China, and for Tata, expanding its reach in the tech industry.

This initiative builds on the existing relationship between Apple and Tata, which already operates an iPhone factory in Karnataka, acquired from Wistron. Apple is actively diversifying its operations, collaborating with assembly and manufacturing partners in India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other regions.

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Tata’s expansion efforts in the tech sector are evident, with accelerated hiring at its Hosur site, where it produces iPhone enclosures, and plans to open 100 stores dedicated to Apple products. Meanwhile, Apple has inaugurated two stores in India and plans to add three more.

Why it matters? The move aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s production-linked incentives, encouraging key Apple suppliers like Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron to expand in India. Last fiscal year, Apple assembled iPhones worth over $7 billion in India, raising the country’s contribution to about 7% of iPhone production, a significant shift from China’s previous monopoly.

The proposed Tata facility, likely larger than the Wistron-acquired one but smaller than Foxconn's major Chinese plants, may seek government subsidies, especially as existing state-backed financial incentives near their end.

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