Apple to Double iPhone Production in India with Massive Factory Expansion

New Delhi: Apple is turbocharging its iPhone production in India, transforming what began as a modest 2017 pilot project into a cornerstone of its global manufacturing strategy.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first meeting with CEO Tim Cook eight years ago, Apple’s presence has grown into a vast network of training centres, dormitories, and manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Now, with two new hubs under construction, the tech giant aims to double India’s current 14% share of iPhone output within two years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The shift has been accelerated by geopolitics. During Donald Trump’s first term, tariff threats on Chinese-made iPhones nudged Apple toward India. The tipping point came in 2025, when Washington slapped a 20% tariff on China-assembled iPhones but spared those made in India.

In the April–June quarter, Tim Cook revealed that most iPhones sold in the US were now made in India—an unmistakable signal of the country’s growing importance in Apple’s supply chain.

At the heart of this expansion is Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur facility, which employs around 40,000 workers—over 80% women—across three shifts. Many live in sprawling government-supported dormitory complexes, with more accommodation on the way. Tamil Nadu has sweetened the deal with subsidies, infrastructure upgrades, and plans for a new airport to serve the factories.

Once the two new plants go live, southern India is expected to employ roughly 150,000 people in iPhone assembly alone. Foxconn’s India units prioritise female recruitment, offering hostel-style housing, recreation areas, and on-site shops—an approach that has drawn thousands of young women from rural areas, sparking both economic and social change.

Apple is also diversifying production into Vietnam, Malaysia, and the US, but industry insiders believe India’s labour pool, incentives, and maturing technical skills could allow Apple to replicate much of its Chinese supply chain here within five years—cementing India’s role as a global iPhone powerhouse.