India Plans 230 Billion Rupees Smartphone Manufacturing Subsidy, Could Help Apple Boost Local Production

India is looking at a ₹230 billion rupee ($2.68 billion USD) subsidy package to support its electronics manufacturing sector, Bloomberg reports. The plan would include subsidies and lower tariffs to reduce production costs for smartphone makers like Apple.

The proposed plan would add to India’s existing production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and focus on building a local component supply chain. Part of the plan involves cutting import tariffs on key electronic parts like batteries, camera modules, and microprocessors. Right now, India’s tariffs on these parts are between 0% and 20%, which is 5-6% higher than countries like China and Malaysia, according to Niti Aayog research.

Apple has been making phones in India since 2017, and Indian-made iPhones now make up about 15% of its global production. The company started making iPhone 16 in India a few weeks after its global release.

If the plan goes through, future models like the iPhone 17 might be made in India and China at the same time. This comes as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to increase electronics manufacturing in India, which has already brought companies like Apple and Samsung to set up or expand production in the country.