After iPhones, India may soon start making MacBooks, boost incentive scheme

India may soon manufacture MacBooks and iPads for Apple as the tech giant looks to broad-base its manufacturing. The government also plans to increase the scope of the production-linked incentive scheme for IT hardware to nearly Rs 20,000 crore as against the existing outlay of Rs 7,380 crore, according to a report by the Times of India.

The government wants to grow  Apple's manufacturing ecosystem in India, given the tech giant's 'China-plus-one strategy' a source in the IT ministry told the Times of India.

“We have tasted success with the iPhone production as Apple's all the top

manufacturers - Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron - are now making smartphones worth billions of dollars in the country. The next step for us is to get the production of MacBook and other products such as iPad in India," Times of India said, citing a source in the ministry.

Also Read: Govt approves Rs 357 crore for Foxconn under PLI for mobile phones

The IT ministry has sent a proposal for enhancement of the scheme, as of now the proposal is now in the hands of finance and some other related ministries according to the report.

The PLI scheme for smartphones, introduced in 2021, promised an incentive support of of 1-4 percent over a four-year period, however the new scheme looks to boost the incentive support to 5 percent.

“We feel the earlier scheme was not sufficient to meet the disability that companies would have if they manufactured in India, Thus, with an enhanced incentive plan and a larger fund outlay, the new scheme will surely prompt companies to invest and also make in India,” ToI reported citing a source.

Also Read: 'Govt's manufacturing push not yielding results; FDI continues to chase less-complicated services sector'

The border tensions between India and China have made the tech giant cagey about manufacturing anything other than iPhones in India in the past as China is Apple's biggest production base but also an equally strong sales market.

Adding to Apple's troubles is the absence of a supplier base in India, since Chinese component makers are hesitant to shift their base to India given the border situation.

Tech companies have continually pushed the government to ease checks for allowing China's investments in India however the Centre is taking its time in order to not hand over control to Chinese entities, the ToI reported.

“Joint venture is one route that we are considering, provided that Indian entities have a say and control’ the source said.

Also Read: Apple contractors will boost production by five times to Rs 47,000 crore worth of iPhones in India this fiscal

The PLI scheme was envisaged to benefit five major global players and 10 domestic champions in the field of IT hardware manufacturing. The government thus feels that getting Apple and other top sellers such as HP and Dell to broad-base their India sourcing is essential for the realisation of India's dream to be a 'global manufacturing hub'.

“These are big companies that need to service markets across the world. With the eco-system gradually building in India after the PLI schemes, we are confident that an enhanced and friendlier scheme will bear results in the IT hardware,” a source said.