Apple Inc. exported iPhones worth more than ₹1.5 trillion ($17.4 billion) from India in the financial year ending March 2025, according to India’s Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The announcement highlights the US tech giant’s accelerating shift away from China and towards India as a manufacturing base.
India’s total smartphone exports surpassed ₹2 trillion during the same period, marking a significant 54 per cent year-on-year increase, Vaishnaw said during a media briefing in the capital.
Apple’s growing footprint in India
Apple’s growing footprint in India follows the severe disruption to its manufacturing operations in China caused by stringent Covid-related lockdowns. The company has since stepped up efforts to diversify its production line.
Major Apple suppliers such as Foxconn and the Tata Group have been ramping up local production capabilities. Tata’s electronics arm has acquired facilities previously owned by Wistron and Pegatron, further cementing its role in Apple’s India strategy.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions and trade policy changes are adding urgency to Apple’s diversification plans. US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods—and the threat of additional levies as high as 50 per cent—are nudging multinational firms like Apple to reduce their reliance on Chinese factories. While Apple is expected to continue moving parts of its supply chain to India and Southeast Asia, analysts say a full relocation away from China remains unlikely in the near term.
Reports suggest Apple has been increasing its Indian output for the US market, anticipating tariff hikes and adjusting its inventory strategy accordingly. Notably, the United States is expected to impose a reciprocal tariff of around 27 per cent on Indian goods, significantly lower than the rate on Chinese imports.
In a dramatic move to sidestep fresh import duties, Apple has also reportedly flew five cargo planes packed with iPhones and other products from India to the United States within just three days, during the final week of March, reportedThe Times of India (TOI).
According to a senior Indian official speaking to TOI, the urgency was driven by a new 10 per cent reciprocal tariff introduced by the Trump administration, which came into effect on 5 April.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
