Apple Plans to Launch Made-in-India iPhone 12 in 2021: Reports

Of the 10,000 jobs this will create, 70 percent are to be hired locally in Karnataka.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/Apple)

American tech giant Apple is planning to roll out its upcoming iPhone 12 by the middle of 2021 by producing it locally in India, sources familiar with the matter told Business Standard.

This is not the first iPhone to be made in the country, but the seventh, giving a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for self reliance or Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The production is expected to begin at Bengaluru’s Narasapura plant, which is home to Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturer, Wistron.

The investment is estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore and the company is expected to hire about 10,000 employees. According to the Karnataka Industrial Policy, 70 percent of the jobs would be given to locals, The New Indian Express reported. Around 2,000 have been recruited.

Wistron announced its plans in 2017 and was allotted 43 acres by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in Narasapura of Kolar district, about 70 km from Bengaluru.

Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Industries and Commerce Department, told The New Indian Express, “We are happy to note that recruitment process has begun. They are going to start production soon”. An official said the company will hire employees in a phased manner and that walk-in interviews for ITI and diploma graduates were being conducted.

Wistron authorities, however, declined to comment.