Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's Minister of State for Information Technology, announced on Friday that Tata Group will be responsible for manufacturing Apple iPhones in both domestic and international markets. In a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter), he extended his congratulations to the Tata team for taking over the operations previously managed by Wistron.
"Congratulations to the Tata team for taking over Wistron operations. Thank you @Wistron for your contributions, and great going for Apple in building a global supply chain from India with Indian companies at its helm," posted Rajeev Chandrasekhar on X.
"@GoI_MeitY stands fully in support in growth of Global Indian Electronics companies that will in turn support global Electronic brands that want to make India their trusted manufacturing & talent partner and to realize PMs goal of making India a global electronics power", he added.
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He included a statement accompanied by a press release from Wistron, in which they declared the approval from their board meeting for their subsidiaries, SMS InfoComm (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and Wistron Hong Kong Limited, to engage in a share purchase agreement with Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) to sell their entire indirect stake in Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Limited.
Upon both parties confirming and signing the relevant agreements, the deal will proceed through the necessary approval stages, and Wistron will follow the required procedures and regulations for the completion of the transaction, as mentioned in the release.
This announcement signifies that Tata Group will become the first Indian company to produce iPhones within India.
Notably, the 155-year-old Tata Group, known for its diverse businesses from salt to technology services, has been making efforts to enter the electronics production and e-commerce sectors in recent years. They already manufacture iPhone chassis, the device's metal framework, in their sprawling factory located in Tamil Nadu.
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Furthermore, Chandrasekhar acknowledged Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his role in the "visionary PLI scheme," which has accelerated India's status as a trusted and significant hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.
The PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme, introduced in 2021, is designed to boost domestic manufacturing, create employment opportunities, and support exports across 14 sectors, including large-scale electronics manufacturing, white goods, textiles, medical device production, automobiles, specialty steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharmaceuticals, with an allocation of ₹1.97 lakh crore.
