Within the past two and a half years, India’s Apple ecosystem has created 150,000 direct jobs and is now mainly focusing on providing residential facilities for its factory workers. The move aligns with the industrial housing models that can be seen in Vietnam and China.
As per ET’s report, citing government officials, Apple’s contract manufacturers and suppliers such as Tata, Salcomp, and Foxconn, want to build homes for their employees. This step which is being carried out under a public-private partnership scheme, marks the largest such private-sector endeavor in India.
The report further mentioned that under this scheme, more than 78,000 units are slated for construction, with Tamil Nadu set to get the highest allocation which is around 58,000 units. SPR India, State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), and Tata Group are among the key developers.The funding model includes contributions from the central government (10-15%), state governments and entrepreneurs.
By the 31st of March 2025, the construction and handover to the private sector are expected to be completed. According to officials, the electronics industry is highly location-sensitive and for efficient transportation of cargo, they need proximity to a major airport. Identifying this, the government aims to provide comfortable housing for workers, considering that most of them originate from several parts of the country.
Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) secretary S Krishnan said that this is why you need to make sure that they are given good-quality housing somewhere close to the factory as that improves productivity, and conditions of work and also for workers it results in better welfare outcomes. This comes at a time when Apple in India has been highly increasing its production capabilities over the past few quarters via its contract manufacturers.
Apple’s India business recorded a revenue of INR 49.3K Cr which is almost $6 Bn in FY23, marking an increase of 48% from INR 33.3K Cr ($4.03 Bn) in FY22. According to RoC filings, Apple India from sales of products generates 94.6% of its revenue and 5.4% from maintenance and services. In India in 2023, Apple manufactured iPhones worth INR 1 Lakh Cr. The freight on board (FOB) value of the Apple devices stood at INR 1 Lakh Cr while the market value of the production stood between INR 1.5 Lakh Cr to INR 1.7 Lakh Cr.
