Prakash Javadekar hails PM Modi's efforts as Apple starts production of iPhone 12 in India

Apple Inc is commencing assembly of its iPhone 12 model in the country, a move that is expected to help the US tech giant further consolidate its position in the burgeoning smartphone market in India. Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Friday wrote that it is PM's efforts in making the country 'Aatma Nirbhar' that the country today is moving away from being import-dependent.

"PM Shri @narendramodi 's efforts to make India a global hub of manufacturing is bearing fruits. #AatmaNirbharBharat is moving away from an import dependent country and will surely be an export surplus country in coming years," Javadekar wrote. 

In a tweet, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also said: "Nice to see our efforts to make India a big hub of mobile and components manufacturing is attracting global attention. This will create jobs in large numbers."

Apple starts assembly of iPhone 12 in India

Apple has partnered with third-party manufacturers like Foxconn and Wistron to make some of its phones in India. These include iPhone SE, iPhone 10R and iPhone 11.

"Apple is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world to delight our customers...We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers,” Apple said in a statement.

Apple had started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE. Apple, which competes with players like Samsung and OnePlus in the premium smartphone segment, has been aggressively ramping up its presence in the Indian market.

In the past, Apple has highlighted that it sees growth opportunities in the Indian market.

In January, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook had stated that the company has doubled its business in India in the December quarter on the back of the strong performance of its online store and that the tech giant sees a good growth trajectory going ahead.

"India is one of those, where our share is quite low. It did improve from the year-ago quarter. Our business roughly doubled over that period of time. And so, we feel very good about the trajectory. We are doing a number of things in the area. We put the online store there, for example, and last quarter was the first full quarter of the online store," Cook had said.

(With PTI inputs)