Foxconn Glitch Won’t Derail iPhone Gains, Says Vaishnaw

Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reiterated India's faith in sustaining its electronics manufacturing growth despite the recent hiccups, including the exit of hundreds of Chinese engineers from Apple supplier Foxconn's Indian subsidiary.

Addressing an ET Roundtable in New Delhi, Vaishnaw stressed that India is strengthening its indigenous manufacturing strengths and supply chains on a constant basis. "We are building our capabilities in a very consistent manner. There will be problems in any growth trajectory, but we are sure we will be able to sustain growth," he said.

Vaishnaw explained that the government has made a deliberate attempt in the past three or four years to create core manufacturing and capability creation for nearly 1,000 components that go into a mobile phone.

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His comments follow over 300 Chinese technicians and engineers who have fled Foxconn iPhone plants in India in the last two months. The move has the possibility of putting on hold plans for manufacturing subsequent iPhone models, such as the iPhone 17, especially as Apple aims to shift more of its supply chain out of China.

When queried regarding India's reliance on Chinese expertise, Vaishnaw replied that strong support is now being drawn from Taiwan, South Korea, the U.S., and Indian engineers. "The capabilities today we have in our own country are significant, particularly design capabilities," he added further.

Foxconn has recently opened a facility at Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, and invested $2.56 billion in its factory at Devanahalli to manufacture 100,000 iPhones during December. Foxconn shipped $3.2 billion worth of iPhones from India between March and May 2025, 97% to the United States.