Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn is set to invest over 1.6 billion dollars, approximately around 13,000 crore rupees, in India. The company made this announcement through a late-night exchange filing in Taiwan on Monday.
Foxconn revealed plans for construction projects, emphasizing that the investment would address operational needs. However, specific details about where and how Foxconn intends to make these investments were not shared.
The company’s representative, V. Lee, conveyed birthday wishes to Prime Minister Modi on his 73rd birthday, mentioning Foxconn’s plan to double its workforce and investment in India. Lee expressed on LinkedIn that Foxconn, under Modi’s leadership, has rapidly grown in India and aims to double employment, foreign direct investment (FDI), and business size, with plans to offer a significant birthday gift next year.
According to media reports, Foxconn currently employs 40,000 people in its plant in Tamil Nadu. Reuters reported last year that Foxconn plans to add 53,000 jobs over the next two years.
Foxconn, along with Wistron and Pegatron, is part of the Indian government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, a 41,000 crore rupees initiative aimed at boosting local manufacturing. This scheme has contributed to the accelerated growth of iPhone manufacturing in India since its launch in 2020.
Due to increasing tensions between the United States and China, Apple’s manufacturing is gradually shifting from China to India. After geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, several American tech giants, including Apple, are expanding their manufacturing facilities outside China.
Foxconn is planning to establish a mobile component plant in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, with an estimated cost of 1,600 crore rupees. Additionally, Foxconn expressed its desire to set up 4-5 semiconductor chip manufacturing units in India, following its joint venture with Vedanta, as communicated to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
In related news, Dell, Foxconn, and 25 other companies have received approval for the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that 23 of these companies are ready to start manufacturing on zero day, while four will commence operations within 90 days. This move is expected to generate direct employment for 50,000 people and indirect employment for 1.5 lakh individuals from these 27 companies.
