300-acre Apple-Foxconn plant in Karnataka to catalyse manufacturing

The recent announcement of 300-acre Apple-Foxconn plant in Karnataka reflects the state’s significant progress in electronics manufacturing, and will catalyse the entire electronics and deep-tech ecosystem, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

Chandrasekhar noted that post-Covid as electronics global value chains are being re-shaped, India is becoming increasingly relevant not just in terms of designing but also for manufacturing cutting-edge technology and next generation products and devices.

The Minister of State for Electronics and IT was addressing the Deep Tech Summit organised by MeitY-NASSCOM Centre of Excellence (CoE) – IoT (Internet of Things) and AI (Artificial Intelligence), in Bengaluru, an official statement said.

After the Modi government took over, opportunities in the digital economy space have expanded rapidly and cover areas such as internet consumer tech, AI, data plus economy, electronics, automobiles and space.

“Under PM Narendra Modi government, deep tech, electronics and semiconductor sectors and designing and manufacturing of next-gen products and devices are going to be significant focus areas for our digital economy, startups and young Indians,” he added.

Chandrasekhar referred to the 300-acre plant being put up by one of the Apple Inc suppliers, Foxconn, just outside Bengaluru and said it will open new opportunities for the youth and catalyse the electronics manufacturing and deep tech ecosystem in the state, the official release said.

The minister also highlighted the skilling initiatives of the government and the allocation of Rs 8,000 crore towards it in the Union Budget, and pointed out that talent inputs required to be an enabler for the expansion of the digital economy, have been put in place.

“In Karnataka alone, 18-20 lakh youth will be skilled for both blue-collar as well high tech, industry relevant and future ready jobs over the next three years,” the Minister said. PTI