Big Win For Modi Govt's PLI Scheme: Apple Hits 81 Per Cent Of FY24 Target With Rs 60,000 Crore iPhone Assembly In First Seven Months

In a big win for the Modi government's "Make in India" initiative and Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Apple has managed to assemble iPhones with a freight-on-board (FOB) value exceeding Rs 60,000 crore in the initial seven months of the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) via its India-based suppliers.

This represents 81 per cent of their combined target of Rs 74,000 crore, which they were required to reach in FY24 under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile devices. A significant part, 70 per cent, of this came from iPhone exports from India.

The numbers are based on data provided by the three Apple vendors - Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron (now acquired by Tatas) - to the Centre and the state governments, Business Standard reported.

The value of Free On Board (FOB) encompasses the ex-factory cost as well as additional expenses such as transportation and warehousing required to deliver to the seller.

Based on their present performance, the three suppliers are projected to reach an FOB value of Rs 90,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore in iPhone production by the end of FY24. This represents an increase of 20 to 35 percent compared to their commitments under the PLI scheme.

Should iPhone's three vendors accomplish their goal, they will comfortably exceed the FOB value target of Rs 92,526 crore for FY25. The aim for the fifth year is to hit Rs 1.09 trillion, which will aid Apple in expediting its plan to transfer 18-20 per cent of its iPhone production to India by FY26.

The Cupertino-headquartered company surpassed its commitment under the scheme even in the second year of operations when it had committed to producing iPhones with an FOB value of Rs 47,000 crore. However, the three vendors surpassed that number and achieved Rs 62,000 crore.

The substantial increase in the Free On Board (FOB) value of iPhone production this year was triggered by a surge in iPhone exports from the country. The exports reached $5 billion (Rs 41,700 crore) in the initial seven months of FY24, marking a 177 per cent growth on a year-on-year basis. In contrast, during the same period last year, iPhone exports from India amounted to only $1.8 billion.

Consequently, Apple's share in the total exports of mobile devices from India has seen a significant increase, from 45 per cent in FY23 (during which it made $5 billion throughout the year) to 62.5 per cent within the initial seven months of FY24.

The encouraging trend has spurred the government to announce ambitious targets for mobile device production.

Recently, Communications Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw announced that by the end of the financial year 2024, mobile device exports from India would reach a value of $15 billion, and the overall production within the country would hit $50 billion.