Japanese firm TDK Plans to Manufacture iPhone Battery Cells in India

Japanese Electronics Manufacturer TDK Corp to Produce Lithium-Ion Battery Cells for Apple iPhones in India, Confirms Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). "TDK, a leading supplier of cells to Apple, is setting up a 180-acre facility in Manesar, Haryana to build cells for batteries which will be used in the #MadeInIndia iPhones", the minister says in a post X.

Approximately 1,000 new jobs will be generated, contributing to increased domestic value addition, affirms the minister, hailing it as a significant achievement for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme aimed at transitioning the mobile manufacturing ecosystem to India. Minister Chandrasekhar extends congratulations to Apple, the TDK team, and the Haryana government for facilitating the Indian government's objective of strengthening the electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

This comes days after Taiwan-based Foxconn said it is planning to invest around $1.6 billion in India. The investment, which will be done via Foxconn subsidiary Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development, is for "operational needs", the company said in a regulatory filing. The iPhone supplier plans to double employment, foreign direct investment (FDI), and business size in India by 2024, according to the company's India representative V Lee.

Earlier this year, Hon Hai Technology Group chairman Young Liu said that since Foxconn entered India in 2005, its revenue, number of employees, and investment scale have grown exponentially. "In addition to existing operations in the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states, Hon Hai will also deploy in Karnataka, Telangana and other states", Liu said in the company's second-quarter earnings report. Through close cooperation with central and local governments, Hon Hai plans to establish industrial parks and optimize the business environment in terms of infrastructure, policies and laws, said Liu. "At present, it is mainly engaged in the ICT final assembly business. Going forward, Hon Hai will actively deploy work in the area of key components to raise its competitiveness in India", he added.

In May, Foxconn's Indian subsidiary secured a 300-acre land parcel on the outskirts of Bengaluru, India's tech hub, as part of its strategy to boost iPhone production. The Karnataka government granted approval for the Taiwanese electronics giant's ₹8,000-crore proposal to establish a mobile phone manufacturing unit near Bengaluru. In the preceding month, Tata Group's electronics arm, Tata Electronics, achieved a milestone by becoming the first Indian company to manufacture iPhones. This accomplishment followed the acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India), and the Tata Group company is set to produce Apple iPhones at its newly acquired facility in Hosur, located in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu.