Apple is looking to manufacture the iPad tablet in India as it is angling to participate in a new scheme to boost India’s exports of computer products. According to a Reuters report, which quoted sources, the government is gearing up to announce an incentive to drive the manufacturing of IT products such as tablets, laptops, and servers locally.
The new incentive will follow last year’s $6.7 billion plan which was unveiled to boost smartphone exports in an effort to promote electronics manufacturing. The plan also aimed to create more jobs.
Apple started to assemble iPhones in India in 2017. The Cupertino technology giant relies on local units of Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron in India, and have committed close to $900 million over five years to make iPhones in India. It is unclear which supplier will manufacture Apple’s iPad.
The new performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme will reportedly have a budget of up to 70 billion rupees ($964.5 million) over five years, and it could be announced by the end of February. The scheme will offer cash-back to manufacturers for exports.
Apple is said to have participated in the new scheme through its contract manufacturers. The move to manufacture iPad tablets in India will reduce Apple’s dependency on Chinese manufacturers. As of now, the bulk of Apple iPads are assembled in China, though the company is looking to expand operations in countries like India and Vietnam in order to minimise the impact of US-China trade war, the report added.
“Apple, along with others, is lobbying for a bigger budgetary outlay of 200 billion rupees before that plan is finalised, as India doesn’t yet have the scale or the supply chain for making IT products and competes with duty-free imports of tech products, two of the sources said,” according to the Reuters report.
Further, another PLI is being planned by New Delhi as well, which could be announced in two months. The budget for the scheme is reportedly roughly 50 billion rupees over five years. The aim will be to boost domestic manufacturing of wearable devices such as smartwatches, the sources said.
