By 2025, a quarter of all iPhones the company makes could be produced in India, say analysts at investment bank JP Morgan.Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu since 2017.

Last week, Apple announced plans to make its latest phone model - iPhone 14 - in India, a significant milestone in the company's strategy to diversify manufacturing outside of China.

But the decision to make their flagship model in India is a noteworthy step as trade tensions between Beijing and Washington show no signs of letting up.

The move also assumes significance in the backdrop of the global supply chain "de-risking" which is underway because of China's "zero-Covid" policy.

Advantage India

India, which is Asia's third largest economy, has been working hard to position itself as an attractive manufacturing and exports hub for multinationals.

It has a large domestic market and plentiful low-cost talent.With GDP growth in the range of 6-7%, and headline inflation that's more modest than in many other parts of the world, India has been one of the better-performing major economies this year.

Its merchandise exports crossed the $400bn mark after stagnating at the $300bn ballpark for nearly a decade.

Besides fiscal sops, Mr Modi's administration has also been giving a major push to bilateral trade pacts in a bid to integrate India more deeply into global supply chains and rejig its image as a notoriously slow negotiating partner.Businesses have welcomed these initiatives.

Small and medium-sized companies - the backbone of India's economy - continue to find it hard to navigate India's byzantine bureaucracy. Truly disruptive reforms on land acquisition and quicker licensing have been elusive, experts say. And rickety infrastructure remains a major sticking point."

Apple is certainly a success story so far but making India a manufacturing hub will require not just big-ticket headline grabbing investments but also a supportive ecosystem for SMEs [Small and Medium Enterprises]," says Mihir Sharma, director at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF)."

It is too early to tell if all these investments will be made at scale, and whether they will be sustainable over time."

Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea - all stand significantly above India in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings. Vietnam has also created a 2030 master plan to build an integrated infrastructure corridor critical for mass manufacturing.

But despite these timeworn challenges, India is in a better position than ever before to leverage this "historic opportunity", says Alex Capri, Research Fellow at the Hinrich Foundation.

He says that certain "key concentrated nodes" in India - southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and the National Capital Region in the north - are well poised to develop a critical mass in manufacturing, as the US and its allies decouple from China.

This is likely to unleash an era of competitive federalism among the states. India could also benefit from Taiwanese tech companies moving capacity to the country under "friend-shoring" arrangements to take advantage of the easy availability of cheap talent, Mr Capri adds.

So is this a tipping point?

"One of my Indian friends told me, India never misses an opportunity..... to miss an opportunity. But I think this time it is different," Mr Capri says.

PAID ONLINE EVENTS VIA THE PME PARTY PLANNER NOW AVAILABLE 😀

See website for details.

Advertise With Us Via Our Website.

This Month of October, We invite various Brands and Individuals with various talent to showcase their abilities via our website. 

*Art/ Music/ Fashion/ Entertainment/ Writing or Poetry....*

Whatever it is ...

Email: 
*info@pmeafrica.com* 
with details including photos and we will open our doors to you.

Terms and Conditions apply.

Quote:

Money only spends once ...

Knowledge and Connections monetize forever.

Keep Learning!

www.pmeafrica.com

Events | Shop | PME Blog

*Have A Wonderful Day* 😊

*STORY OF MY LIFE* ..

.. A Launch Party for *PME Angels* in the making. Powered by the *PME Party Planner* ⌚

WATCH OUT!

Have A Fabulous Day 👌