Apple secures govt clearance to expand India manufacturing

A new report indicates that Apple has secured government clearance for a major expansion of its Indian manufacturing base to cope with demand.

Apple is reportedly looking to “nearly double the headcount at its Chennai plant” amid increased demand for the iPhone.

Apple has reportedly secured clearance for denotifying 40 acres inside the Chennai plant, allowing Apple “to ramp up production for the domestic market.”

One source told the outlet that the expansion has been on the cards and that “a portion of their premises has been denotified to ramp up production, for which they need to increase their workforce.”

As the report explains, companies operating in India’s special economic zones (SEZs) can apply for such clearance, applying to denotify portions of a factory as DTA (domestic tariff area) so they can produce for the local market. The news is a clear sign that Apple’s best iPhones, namely the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 are proving popular in the country and that demand is growing.

Foxconn is also reportedly accelerating a push to reopen hostels for workers that were closed last year because of a food-poisoning incident. Some 10,000 of 15,000 total workers are said to be back in company-provided accommodation, and an official said that Foxconn plans to have its entire workforce back in accommodation by the first week of May.

The same outlet reported last week that Apple had started production of the iPhone 13 in India, the second of its flagship handsets to be built in the country. iMore