‘Given the scale and development trajectory of India’s manufacturing industry, the potential similarities and potential similarities of China’s experience, Beijing recognizes the need to limit the rise of geopolitical rivals.” | Photo Credit: Getty Images/Istockphoto
In mid-January this year, news of China surfaced that prevented travel by citizens working as engineers and engineers at a facility in Foxconn, India. It was also reported that people already in India have been recalled, and restrictions have been extended to the curbs for exporting important specialized manufacturing equipment, which China has monopolized. Foxconn reportedly challenged Taiwanese workers to bring in to fill the talent gap, but what’s crippling is the halt of special equipment. Apple-Foxconn remains important to India’s ambition to become a global manufacturing force, and therefore such strangulation will affect its large purpose.
What are you playing?
These zero-sum measures by China have expanded geopolitical competition with India through regulations on capital flows and other production factors. Fully aware of its superiority in advanced machines and a well-trained workforce in tightly integrated global electronics production, China has a knowledge from Chinese engineers to Indian counterparts of assembly lines. We plan to suppress the implicit transfer of the China, combined with the disruption due to the lack of specialized equipment, calls for a strategic position in the supply chain network to slow India’s production and put itself in a favorable negotiating position.
With the rising trade tensions between China and the West, particularly the US and Covid-19-related turmoil, many global companies have begun to adopt China and one diversification strategy for future decoration. India, along with countries like Vietnam and Mexico, is on the forefront of seeking profits from the move.
Given the size of India’s manufacturing sector and its development trajectory as potential similarities to China’s experience, Beijing has limited the rise of geopolitical rivals, and has made global enterprises unique to the production ecosystem We recognize the need to remind ourselves of the essentiality of the
Over the past few years, the Indian government has worked with the state government to pull out all the stops to establish Apple-Foxconn investment in the country’s southern part of the country. The initiative, which produced fruit in 2023, has assembled the iPhone 15 model at Foxconn’s facility in Sungavalkatram, Tamil Nadu, along with another line at the Tata Electronics factory in Hosur, Karnataka.
For the fiscal year ending March 2024, Apple has collected $14 billion worth of iPhones in India through contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics. In 2024, for the first time the iPhone 16 Pro model was assembled by Foxconn in India. The South Indian state government is prioritizing Apple-Foxconn in pursuit of investment.
The awarding of Padma Bhushan to Chairman Foxconn Young Liu in 2024 further highlights the importance of the company to India. The focus appears to be on replicating the symbiotic relationship between Apple and China.
The pillar of “Indian Makeup”
Large-scale electronics manufacturing, especially for smartphones, is one of the key pillars of the “Make in India” program. The Production-Related Incentives (PLI) scheme, first launched in the electronics industry in 2020, witnessed an increase in allocations by the central government. Union budget of 2024 ($0.70 billion) is 6,125 crores.
A recent news report shows that for three fiscal years 2022-23, Apple’s contract manufacturers in India (Foxconn, Pegatron and Tata Electronics) cumulatively, nearly 6,600 crores ($0.76 million) It has been revealed that I received it. Payment amount of £8,700 crore ($1 billion) based on the PLI scheme. Additionally, Union Budget 2025 will completely remove basic customization/import duties for mobile phone components such as printed circuit boards, camera modules, connectors, sensors, etc., as various capital/machines used in the manufacture of lithium ions. did. Battery for mobile phones. It is worth noting that China’s Zerosum action took place just months after the snow melting in ties with India and China. The patrol agreement will be posted in October 2024 to end the four-year military conflict between the two troops in eastern Ladakh.
Economic necessity – India’s dependence on China, reliance on China on components and machines – is believed to have accelerated the negotiation process. This indicates that India-China relations do not (and not necessarily) rest on a stable boundary. This is because geopolitical competition between the two sides will only become more serious in the future.
India needs to think long term
In the short term, there is no easy solution for India, so both Apple and Foxconn need to be involved in negotiating with China to ease Beijing’s latest measures. Given the stakes of these companies in both countries, their involvement could possibly help the Indian case. However, this should also serve as another opportunity to speed up the future prevention process from the perspective of human resources, components and specialized machinery.
It should be noted that India is primarily at the heart of the final assembly of smartphones. Subsidized industries need to be encouraged and expanded for a balanced overall manufacturing ecosystem, including the production of various components.
The national manufacturing missions for small, medium and large industries announced in the union budget are a good step, but require reliable financial muscles that lead to the development of clusters for technical knowledge sharing. On-site training for workers, including the implicit sharing of knowledge about assembly lines, should be complemented and enhanced with industry-specific specialization in skills development programs.
More private capital needs to be encouraged to create a robust network of indigenous contract manufacturers, not just for foreign companies but also for domestic Indian brands.
Anand P. Krishnan is a fellow of the Centre of Himalayas Studies at Shiv Nadar Eminens Institute, Delhi NCR
Published – February 15th, 2025, 12:08 AM IST
