The financial year 2023 will mark the second year of the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme and has already started in April and the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple’s contractors are eyeing to manufacture iPhones worth Rs 47,000 crore this year itself. This is a huge step up and is almost five times the Rs 10,000 crore worth of iPhones that were manufactured in the previous financial year by Foxconn and Wistron.
PLI Scheme – A Boon for Manufacturers?
According to a report from ET Telecom, iPhone manufacturers are not going to face any difficulties to qualify for the PLI scheme as the expected production is almost twice the actual requirement to become eligible. To become eligible for the scheme, Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron are all required to make iPhones worth Rs 8,000 crore. Moreover, experts anticipate that Apple will ship about 7 million units which will result in the company having its highest market share ever of about 5.5%. This will ride on the back of high demand for a wider portfolio of devices which is backed up by higher local production and attractive financing schemes.
As of now, India constitutes less than 1.5% of Apple’s global sales and according to the sources close to the matter, more than 60% of the iPhones produced in the country will be for exports. Notably, the PLI scheme was introduced in the year 2020 to drive manufacturers to India from China and Vietnam. There is a disability in the range of about 10% to 15% between India and its manufacturing rivals which the PLI scheme tries to offset by offering about 4% - 6% cashback over the period of five years. The total outlay for the scheme is Rs 40,951 crore over five years.
As far as Apple is considered, the report suggests that the company is expected to produce phones worth over $6 billion at factory price in the second year of the PLI scheme. To recall, iPhone production in India commenced five years ago in 2017 with iPhone SE and now the portfolio includes iPhone 11, 12 and 13 as well. Previously back in December last year, the government announced a $10-billion incentive scheme for semiconductor production and design.
