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Apple Making iPhone XR In India, Expanding Operations: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Salcomp, which makes Apple iPhone chargers, has reached an agreement to take over Nokia’s erstwhile plant near Chennai. 

Apple Inc. iPhone XR and iPhone XS smartphones are displayed during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
Apple Inc. iPhone XR and iPhone XS smartphones are displayed during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S. (Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Apple Inc. has started production of iPhone XR in India for the domestic market and exports, underlying the government's efforts to bolster mobile manufacturing in the country, Information and Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Monday.

The minister also said that Salcomp, the world's largest manufacturer and a major supplier of chargers to Apple for iPhones, has reached an agreement to take over closed facility of Nokia in a special economic zone near Chennai.

Salcomp will revive the unit, which was closed for nearly 10 years, and the facility will become operational from March 2020. The unit will make chargers and other mobile equipment, and will boast of a diversified portfolio. This will entail an investment of Rs 2,000 crore over five years.

"The big SEZ of Nokia which was closed for 10 years will get into life again. As many as 10,000 people will get jobs directly and 50,000 jobs will be generated indirectly," Prasad said.

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India's overall mobile, as well as components exports, are expected to cross $1.6 billion each in 2019-20, he said.