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Indian iPhones to be assembled by Tata Group: Report

Tata Group is discussing establishing an electronics manufacturing joint venture in India with a Taiwanese supplier to Apple. The talks with Wistron Corp. are aimed at making Tata a technological manufacturing force. If the agreement is successful, Tata will be the first Indian business to manufacture iPhones, which are now mostly built by Taiwanese manufacturing giants.

An Indian enterprise producing iPhones would be a huge boost to the country’s efforts to compete with China. It may also convince other major electronics manufacturers to consider assembling in India. At the same time, it might help minimise their reliance on China at a time when geopolitical dangers are mounting. According to one of the sources, Tata might purchase shares in Wistron’s India business or the companies may create a new assembly factory together. The deal’s structure and specifics, such as shareholdings, have yet to be confirmed, and discussions are ongoing. It was unclear whether Apple was aware of the discussions.

The new venture aims to eventually increase the number of iPhones assembled by as much as five times. Apple is known to work with local companies in regions where it sets up manufacturing bases but assembling iPhones is a complicated task. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Group, has stated that electronics and high-tech manufacturing are significant emphasis areas for the corporation. It has started the supply chain by producing iPhone chassis components in southern India.

Taiwan-based Wistron began making iPhones in India in 2017, after years of efforts by Apple to add manufacturing capabilities in the country. The company currently assembles iPhones at its plant in the state of Karnataka in southern India. Tata’s reach also spans automobiles including electric vehicles, an area many of the world’s tech giants are eager to expand in.

The potential of India’s 1.4 billion-person consumer market has prompted Apple’s two important contract manufacturers, Foxconn and Pegatron Corp., to grow there as well. Nonetheless, India’s workers and manufacturers have struggled to embrace the highly regulated standards that Apple expects from its suppliers. Since the beginning of iPhone manufacturing in India five years ago, employees have protested over low wages and deplorable living and working conditions.

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