Apple Supply Chain Drive in India Creates 2.5 Lakh Jobs, Empowers Women Workforce

In recent years, Apple Inc. has grown into a major employer of blue-collar workers in India. In 2021, the government introduced the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) programme to encourage the manufacturing of mobile phones, which has since benefited the tech titan. The Cupertino-based tech giant's India ecosystem has created more than 250,000 direct jobs in just five years, which is significantly more than what was first anticipated.

The PLI initiative will conclude in March 2026. Statistical evidence provided to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) by the Electronic Component Manufacturing (ECM) and the PLI programmes reveals an astonishing 70% female representation in these positions, with many of these women falling into the first-time worker age bracket of 19–24.

Apple’s Partners Created 1,40,000 Jobs

About 140,000 direct employments have been generated in India by the two major iPhone assemblers, Tata Group and Foxconn. Thus, they have achieved more than the 118,290 posts they had first promised under the PLI framework. When considering that the government had originally aimed for 200,000 direct jobs over the course of five years from all participating enterprises, this goes above and beyond.

Approximately 72,000 people work for Tata Group's three iPhone facilities, whereas over 70,000 people work for Foxconn's two plants when they're operating at full capacity. In addition to these anchor manufacturers, a wide variety of Indian, international, and joint venture enterprises have created an extra 110,000 direct jobs. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are now an integral part of Apple's supply chain for component parts. The network now includes over 30 Indian MSMEs that manufacture parts and pieces for Apple products, including MacBooks, iPhones, and accessories.

Indian Suppliers Directly Supplying to Apple’s Global Supply Chain

In all, eight states—Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka—are home to Apple suppliers. There has been an expansion of operations at several companies, including Tata Electronics, Hindalco Industries, Bharat Forge, VVDN Technologies, Wipro PARI, Salcomp, the Motherson Group, Sunwoda Electronic, Foxlink, SFO Technologies, TEAL, and Jabil. A few of these companies export directly into Apple's worldwide supply chain. The employment impact has been significantly greater.

A wide range of supporting services, including packaging, transportation, tooling, and facility management, are affected by this multiplier impact. The effect on exports has been just as revolutionary. Exports of smartphones from India reached $30 billion from January to December 2025, with $23 billion (or 76% of the total) going to iPhones. From 2015 to 2025, cellphones will account for 100% of the country's export revenue, up from 167th place a decade ago. As a result of Apple's localisation drive, the electronics manufacturing landscape in India has been greatly altered. The country's new industrial story revolves around mobile gadgets, which have also altered its export profile.