Indian Economy-News & Updates

[HariPrasad]

https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...cturing-capacity-in-india/article25734512.ece

Vivo to invest Rs 4,000 cr to expand manufacturing capacity in India

Chinese handset maker Vivo said it will set up a new manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh as well as invest Rs 4,000 crore over a period of four years.

The company, which competes with the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi in the Indian market, has acquired 169-acre land in the Yamuna Expressway region on the outskirts of the national capital.

The new land has been acquired near Vivo’s existing 50-acre manufacturing facility (in Greater Noida, UP), and it will help expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities and support its growth in India, a statement said.

“Vivo entered India in 2014 with a commitment to bring product innovation, focus and value to our consumers. India is a key market for us, and today we have reiterated our commitment by entering the next phase of growth in India,” Vivo India Director-Brand Strategy Nipun Marya said.

The new plant will offer a major benefit to the surrounding area through high-quality job creation and training opportunities, he added.

All Vivo smartphones sold in the country are manufactured at the Greater Noida facility, which is one of Vivo’s four manufacturing facilities globally.

The existing manufacturing set-up, which saw an investment of Rs 300 crore, functions at a capacity of 2 million units per month with more than 5,000 employees.

Vivo expects to generate 5,000 additional jobs in the first phase of expansion, the statement said.

During this phase, Vivo also plans to double the current production capacity to 50 million units per annum, it added.

India is one of the world’s largest smartphone markets and growing steadily. Smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high of 42.6 million units in July-September 2018 quarter, registering an year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent, according to the research firm IDC.

This is the first time when the smartphone market is at par with the feature phone market with each segment contributing 50 per cent to the overall mobile phone market.

Xiaomi led the smartphone tally with shipment of 11.7 million units and 27.3 per cent market share, followed by Samsung 9.6 million units (22.6 per cent share), Vivo 4.5 million units (10.5 per cent share), Micromax 2.9 million units (6.9 per cent share) and Oppo 2.9 million units (6.7 per cent share).

Many multinational companies are now getting Indianized.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.business-standard.com/a...r-for-sensitive-equipment-118121700507_1.html

IIT-M partners Thales group to design processor for sensitive equipment

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) is partnering with French multinational Thales Group to design a processor compatible with the highest safety critical standards, which once get approval could be used in sensitive equipment in defence, aerospace, space and transportation sectors.

The collaboration will result in defining and prototyping a Shakti Risc-V based processor. Thales and IIT Madras are going to take up joint research programs in many areas including aerospace, space, transportation, security and defence.

As a result of this tie up, a fault-tolerant Shakti framework would be developed and will undergo evaluation by the world’s top experts in Safety Critical Standards. Pursuant to their approval, it can be used in sensitive equipment in defence, aerospace, space, and transportation sectors.

Thales, which has expertise in designing and building electronic systems for aerospace, space, transportation, security and defence, will bring in the security and dependability of critical embedded systems to establish security best practices for hardware development.

The ultimate objective is to improve the security and dependability of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, embedded systems and machine learning implementations.

IIT Madras researchers recently designed, fabricated and booted up India's first indigenously-developed RISC V Microprocessor - Shakti. The Shakti family of processors are targeted for mobile computing devices, embedded low power wireless systems and networking systems besides reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in communications and defence sectors. The microprocessor can be used by others as it is on par with international standards.

Lead researcher Kamakoti Veezhinathan, Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “With the advent of more and more safety critical systems adopting electronics hardware for intricate control and monitoring, fault-tolerance and security features are of prime importance in next generation processors."

This tie-up with Thales will result in a detailed analysis of these features resulting in a framework that could be adopted for designing the next generation Shakti-based safety-critical systems, he added.

Arnaud Samama, R&D computing manager, Thales Research and Technology, said, “By adopting an open approach to both hardware and software, this joint effort will create new opportunities for the design of mission-critical systems in all sectors, including aerospace, space, transportation, security and defence."

With this, the company is look at taking the partnership, formed in March this year, to the next level, he added.

 

[Nilgiri]

@Viet thread of interest for you perhaps

 

[lemurian]

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...-drive-exports-to-us/articleshow/67154477.cms

John Deere's India plant helps drive exports to US

John Deere, the American farm equipment maker's strategy to use its Indian subsidiary to make tractors for its home base is beginning to get results, enabling the company to get a measure of its Indian rivals who have made inroads into the US market.

John Deere's Indian unit manufactures relatively less expensive and low-powered 55 to 75 horsepower tractors for the US market that cater to small-holding cultivators and hobby farmers. “About 50% of our tractor exports go to the US... We are filling in the overall portfolio that John Deere has for the customers in the US,” Satish Nadiger, MD, John Deere India, told ET. To be sure, these tractors make a small portion of the 182-year old, $37 billion company’s portfolio in the US. This is in line with the emerging trend of the US becoming the second largest export market for vehicles manufactured in India after Mexico.

Companies such as Ford, along with German Luxury carmaker Mercedes, are some notable manufacturers exporting to the US from India. John Deere India exports around 30% of its production volume to more than 110 countries around the world, Nadiger said. The company has an installed manufacturing capacity of 1.32 lakh units a year at its tractor manufacturing plants at Pune and Dewas.

At its technology centre in Pune, products are developed for the local market as well for some other countries. Last year, they produced 1 lakh tractors and managed to sell about 98,000 of them, said Nadiger. The company started operations in India as a joint venture with Larsen & Toubro two decades ago in 1998. While L&T exited the venture in 2006, John Deere continued operations, and today it commands a 9% share of the tractor market here.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.thehindubusinessline.co...r-delay-to-invest-1650-cr/article25775663.ece

Chinese fibreglass maker Jushi to start building India plant after 3-year delay; to invest Rs. 1,650 cr

Jushi India Fibreglass, part of China’s Jushi Group, plans to break ground next month to set up a fibreglass manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra at an investment $246 million (about ₹1,650 crore).

The construction of the plant, which will have a production capacity of 1 lakh tonnes and employ about 600 engineers, is expected to be completed in 15 months. Jushi plans to invest another $250 million in the second phase in five years. The company had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government in 2015 for the project and was assigned various sops under the ‘ultra mega project’ scheme, as part of the Make in India initiative.

However, the 58 acres of land assigned to Jushi was full of ‘encumbrances’, and it took almost three years for the company to acquire a clear title on land besides getting various approvals. S Ramachandran, Director, Jushi India Fibreglass, told BusinessLine the group considered various countries for setting up the project. The Indian arm of the Jushi group ‘snatched’ the project which had been heading to Malaysia.

The ample availability of raw material — such as silica, limestone and china clay — in Rajasthan and Gujarat tilted the scale in India’s favour, he added.

Little ease
However, given the group’s experience, it can be stated that ‘ease of doing business’ in India remains only on paper, said Ramachandran. It took almost three years for the group to get all the approvals for a project that would not only produce products that can substitute imports but also has large scope for exports, he added.

Of the 1 lakh tonne planned fibreglass production, Jushi will export about 30,000 tonnes. India imports about 1,10,000 tonnes of fibreglass annually to meet the demand of 1,70,000-1,80,000 tonnes. The demand for fibreglass is growing at a CAGR of 6-8 per cent with strong demand from optic fibre cable companies and automobile component makers besides the wind energy and power sectors.

The Jushi Group has four production bases with three in China and one in Egypt. It has trading subsidiaries in South Africa, South Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Canada, India, Singapore, Japan, the US and Hong Kong. It employs about 8,000 people across the globe.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/naspers-leads-1-billion-round-in-swiggy-3311741.html

Naspers leads $1 billion round in Swiggy

Food delivery firm Swiggy on December 20 said its existing investor Naspers has led its fresh funding round of $1 billion in what is seen as the single largest financing round in the Indian food-tech industry.

The round also saw participation from other existing investors such as DST Global, Meituan Dianping and Coatue Management, along with new investors such as Tencent, Hillhouse Capital and Wellington Management Company.


Swiggy will use the funds to bring more quality food brands closer to consumers and address gaps in supply through delivery-only kitchens, under the ‘Access’ initiative for restaurant partners.

Additionally, Swiggy will use the capital to hire talent, especially for machine learning and engineering roles across the mid and senior levels. The company will further strengthen its technology backbone and focus on building a next-generation AI-driven platform for hyperlocal discovery and on-demand delivery.

"Swiggy has 10x the number of orders per month since our first investment, has expanded throughout India to tier 1, 2 and 3 cities,” said Larry Illg, CEO, Food and Ventures, Naspers.

Since the last funding round six months ago, Swiggy has expanded to 42 additional cities and doubled in gross merchandise value.

Overall, Swiggy has raised a total of $1.26 billion.

 

[MimophantSlayer]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1070659487676227584

This is very interesting. Khalid A. Al-Falih, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, is implicitly saying that Prime Minister Modi's persuasion is an important factor in global crude prices cooling down. (question was about President Trump, yet he specifically mentioned PM Modi).
https://t.co/Jr2LLEE5v6

 

[lemurian]

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/cat...addi-became-indias-fastest-growing-sport.html

How Kabaddi became India’s fastest growing sport

KEY POINTS

• Kabaddi is now the second-most watched sport in India.
• It has inked the biggest TV sponsorship deal in India for a non-cricket sport

‘Kabaddi on television? Completely unheard of. Why would somebody watch it? How are they going to present it?’

These were the questions, according to Star Sports creative director Siddharth Sharma, that people across India were asking when the Indian TV network bought the rights to the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) back in 2014.

“It was a sport that was not embraced by urban India, (they) completely overlooked the sport.” said Siddharth, before adding, “The settings of the sport was such that it use to be played on dusty bowls.”

Four years later and kabaddi, a body contact sport of raiding and defending between two teams, is now the second most watched sport in India behind cricket.

From 2016 to 2017, the PKL increased its TV viewership India by almost 100 million people. And while it’s still second to India’s premier cricket competition the Indian Premier League, the Pro Kabaddi League has managed to attract more Indian viewers than soccer’s World Cup, one of the world’s most watched sporting events.

In December, the sport underlined its growing popularity after three Pro Kabaddi League games enjoyed higher TV ratings than the Indian cricket team’s recent Test match win against Australia.

Investment in the league has also increased. In 2017, the TV network Star Sports signed the biggest sponsorship deal in India for a non-cricket sport, worth more than 40 million dollars.

As a result player salaries have also increased. Following the 2016 player auction, the highest paid player was on just under $130,000 dollars for the season’s salary. This year the number rose to $210,000.

There’s also signs that India’s favorite indigenous sport is growing outside the country.

At this year’s Asia Games neither the men or women’s India kabaddi teams won gold, as Iran took the honors in both competitions.

“Of course we are the country who lost, which is bad for me as a fan” said Vinod Bisht, vice president of GMR Sports, owners of the kabaddi team U.P. Yoddha.

“For our game of kabaddi it is, an ultimate manifestation of how the game is growing. There are two, three more teams who are on any day depending on the performance are able to beat a country like India where the game was developed and grown.”

 

[lemurian]

https://www.businesstoday.in/curren...tore-noida-create-8000-jobs/story/302624.html

IKEA continues expansion; to open store in Noida, create 8,000 jobs

Swedish ready-to-assemble furniture giant, IKEA, has signed a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Uttar Pradesh government. The deal worth Rs 5,000 crore states that IKEA will set up an outlet in Noida. The upcoming IKEA store will provide employment to around 8,000 workers both direct and indirect.

CM Yogi Adityanath who was also present at the Lucknow event said the continuous efforts of the government have led to a lucrative business environment in the state. "Industrial institutions interested in large investments are setting up their establishments. According to the policies of the state government, any person or institution can invest in the state. The state government will provide all possible assistance to such investors and industrial institutions," he added.

IKEA officials told The Times of India that they are looking to develop retail and commercial parks that would include shopping centres, offices and integrated commercial projects in the state. These projects could be owned by IKEA or by independent developers.

IKEA CEO Peter Betzel told the daily that they are looking to set up a mix of large and smaller city centre format stores but would set up a large format IKEA store in Noida as part of the immediate plan. They are scouting for suitable land, as mentioned in the report. "The store will have an estimated investment of Rs 1,000 crore. It will employ around 1,000 co-workers directly and another 1,000 indirectly across the value chain," he said as mentioned in the daily.
A similar MoU to launch three stores in Lucknow, Agra and Noida was signed by the company with the Akhilesh Yadav-led UP government in September, 2015. However, things did not move forward. IKEA had, around that time, also signed MoUs with the state governments of Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The first IKEA store in India opened in Hyderabad earlier this year. The company also has plans to launch multiple stores across metro cities. By 2030 IKEA plans to have its presence across 49 Indian cities.

"IKEA will create a multi-channel experience for its customers in India. It will launch e-commerce in Mumbai early next summer (March) and introduce other touch points to bring the brand closer to customers," Betzel had told agencies earlier.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...k-market-leapfrogs-germany-s-as-economy-booms

India’s Stock Market Leapfrogs Germany's to Become World’s Seventh-Biggest

India’s ascent on the global stage has claimed another victory after its stock market overtook Germany to become the seventh largest in the world.

The Asian giant edged past the equity market of Europe’s largest economy for the first time in seven years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That means, after the U.K. leaves the European Union in March, the bloc would have only one country -- France -- among the seven biggest markets.

In a year dominated by trade protectionism and punitive tariffs by Donald Trump’s administration on China, it’s little wonder that investors have turned cautious over countries with a heavy dependence on exports.

Germany derives more than 38 percent of its gross domestic product from exports, based on 2017 data from World Bank. The corresponding ratio for India is only 11 percent, meaning much of the stock-market opportunity in the country comes from domestic consumer stories.

The reliance on local demand and entrepreneurship also puts India ahead in growth sweepstakes. The south Asian nation is projected to grow 7.5 percent this year and 7.3 percent in 2019, a far cry from German growth of 1.6 percent for each year.

 

[lemurian]

https://mercomindia.com/india-2nd-largest-solar-market-9m-2018/

India Was the Second Largest Solar Market in 9M 2018

India’s solar installations came in second worldwide during the first nine months of 2018 in terms of solar capacity addition. China added a whopping 34.5 GW of solar PV capacity in first nine months of 2018 according to data released by National Energy Administration. India installed the second most with 6.6 MW during the same period. The United States has added about 6.5 MW of solar PV capacity in the first nine months according to SEIA/Wood Mackenzie.

These top 3 global solar market leaders – China, India, and the United States – installed a combined 48 GW of solar PV in the first nine months of 2018. China’s installation of over 34 GW in the first nine months of 2018 dwarfs the installed capacity of solar in India and the U.S. so far this year.

For the second quarter in a row, the U.S. installed more solar than India. The U.S. installed 1.8 GW compared to India’s 1.6 GW in the third quarter of 2018. In the second quarter of 2018, the United States installed 2.3 MW in comparison to India’s 1.6 MW. China installed over 10 GW of solar PV in Q3 2018.

Although the U.S. installed more capacity than India in Q2 and Q3 2018, India is slightly ahead in the first three quarters of 2018 due to the rapid pace of installations recorded in the first quarter of 2018, in which India installed over 3 GW.

According to a recent report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in Q3 2018, the U.S. solar market installed 1.7 GW of solar PV, a 15 percent decrease from Q3 2017 and a 20 percent decrease from Q2 2018. The report forecasts 11.1 GW of new PV installations for Q4 2018 in the United States.

For India, Mercom has forecast 8 GW of solar PV installations in 2018 due to lack of a strong pipeline of projects. The fourth quarter solar installations are expected to be weak as the Indian market grapples with the safeguard duty and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), among other issues.

At the end of 2018, India is projected to be the third largest solar market in the world behind China and the U.S. based on current forecasts.

 

[SBUS-CXK]

https://mercomindia.com/india-2nd-largest-solar-market-9m-2018/

India Was the Second Largest Solar Market in 9M 2018

India’s solar installations came in second worldwide during the first nine months of 2018 in terms of solar capacity addition. China added a whopping 34.5 GW of solar PV capacity in first nine months of 2018 according to data released by National Energy Administration. India installed the second most with 6.6 MW during the same period. The United States has added about 6.5 MW of solar PV capacity in the first nine months according to SEIA/Wood Mackenzie.

These top 3 global solar market leaders – China, India, and the United States – installed a combined 48 GW of solar PV in the first nine months of 2018. China’s installation of over 34 GW in the first nine months of 2018 dwarfs the installed capacity of solar in India and the U.S. so far this year.

For the second quarter in a row, the U.S. installed more solar than India. The U.S. installed 1.8 GW compared to India’s 1.6 GW in the third quarter of 2018. In the second quarter of 2018, the United States installed 2.3 MW in comparison to India’s 1.6 MW. China installed over 10 GW of solar PV in Q3 2018.

Although the U.S. installed more capacity than India in Q2 and Q3 2018, India is slightly ahead in the first three quarters of 2018 due to the rapid pace of installations recorded in the first quarter of 2018, in which India installed over 3 GW.

According to a recent report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in Q3 2018, the U.S. solar market installed 1.7 GW of solar PV, a 15 percent decrease from Q3 2017 and a 20 percent decrease from Q2 2018. The report forecasts 11.1 GW of new PV installations for Q4 2018 in the United States.

For India, Mercom has forecast 8 GW of solar PV installations in 2018 due to lack of a strong pipeline of projects. The fourth quarter solar installations are expected to be weak as the Indian market grapples with the safeguard duty and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), among other issues.

At the end of 2018, India is projected to be the third largest solar market in the world behind China and the U.S. based on current forecasts.

Table: Top Solar Panel Manufacturers in 2018 – Global ranking by shipment volume

2017 RANK COMPANY HEADQUARTERS
1 JinkoSolar China
2 Trina Solar China
3 Canadian Solar Canada
4 JA Solar China
5 Hanwha Q CELLS South Korea
6 GCL-SI Hong Kong
7 LONGi Solar China
8 Risen Energy China
9 Shunfeng China
10 Yingli Green China
*Source: pv-tech.org

https://news.energysage.com/best-solar-panel-manufacturers-usa/

==============================================

LONGi Solar to Set up 1GW Mono Cell and 1GW Mono Module Manufacturing Facility in India

China’s Longi Solar confirms 1 GW Indian manufacturing facility

Trina Solar was the Top Solar Module Supplier to India as of the Second Quarter of 2017

JA Solar's YTD module shipments to India reach 1GW in 2017

China's LONGi plans solar equipment manufacturing facility in India

 

[lemurian]

https://energy.economictimes.indiat...llion-transmission-project-in-brazil/67227864

Sterlite Power wins $600 million transmission project in Brazil

Private sector infrastructure giant Sterlite Power today announced it has won a $600 million power transmission project in Brazil that includes setting up six substations of 1.544 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) capacity.

This addition increases the portfolio of Sterlite Power to 10 projects, the company said in a statement. The project under the latest order will be commissioned over a period of the next 3-5 years in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

"We feel committed to the region and look forward to delivering the new project ahead of schedule," said Pratik Agarwal, Group Chief Executive Officer of Sterlite Power.

Brazil's transmission system needs to add significant capacity to manage the transition in generation footprint -- from a hydro and thermal dominated base-load to renewable generation, the company said.

 

[lemurian]

http://www.newindianexpress.com/bus...-largest-tier-4-datacentre-footp-1916359.html

Hyderabad based tech firm to invest Rs 2,000 crore to set up world's largest tier-4 datacentre footprint in India

Hyderabad-based technology infrastructure provider CtrlS plans to set up world's largest tier-4 datacentre footprint in India by 2020 with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore, according to a top company official. The company plans to set up 150-megawatt hyperscale datacentre in Hyderabad that will be spread across two million square feet, a 100 MW similar facility in Mumbai and a 70 MW set-up in Chennai - spread over around a million square feet each, CtrlS Datacenters, founder and CEO, Sridhar Pinnapureddy told PTI. "The demand for data storage has boomed in the country and data localisation is also creating a huge demand for hyperscale datacentre in India. We will start building a new tier-4 datacentre in Mumbai from March, Hyderabad facility from around May-June and Chennai in last quarter of 2019.

Total investment will be around Rs 2,000 crore," Pinnapureddy said. He said that all the datacentres will be functional in 2020. Tier-4 datacentres has assured 99.995 per cent uptime implying maximum of 26 minutes downtime in a year. It requires almost double the investment is done in the tier-3 data centre, which can have downtime of up to few hours in a year. The CEO said the firm will fund its expansion mostly from internal accruals and partly with debt funding.

"With addition of around 4 million square feet, CtrlS will emerge as World's largest Tier-4 datacentre entity to cater to need of emerging technologies. World's 90 per cent data has been generated in last 1,000 days. This part Indian data localisation policy will lead to large growth of data in India as most of the overseas companies operating in banking," Pinnapureddy said. The company already has 1 million square feet datacenters, which includes two tier-4 facility in Mumbai, two tier-4 in Hyderabad, one tier-4 in Noida and a tier-3 datacenter in Chennai. "The largest Tier-4 player would have a footprint of approximately one million square feet. However, CtrlS will soon enjoy a cumulative footprint of five million Tier-4 datacenter space spread across 10 datacenters in India thereby emerging as the world's largest tier-4 datacenter," CtrlS Datacenters, VP-marketing," B S Rao said.

He said that CtrlS currently serves 20 of the Fortune 100 global multi-national companies. According to a Cushman and Wakefield report, the global datacentre market is dominated by the Americas with 40 per cent of market share or USD 68 billion in investments followed by Europe and Russia together at 32 per cent or USD 54 billion.

It projects that India will be a USD 4.5 billion datacenter market by 2018 and will reach USD 7 billion by 2020. Its 350 million smartphone users, 258 million social media users, and 224 million digital buyers are also contributing to growth of data. Besides, the Asia-Pacific market is growing rapidly with a 25 per cent market share at USD 42 billion driven by the demand from emerging economies with huge populations such as China, India, and Indonesia.

 

[lemurian]

https://www.livemint.com/Companies/...ble-topend-Apple-iPhones-in-India-Report.html

Foxconn to assemble Apple iPhone X series in India

Apple Inc. will begin assembling its top-end iPhones in India through the local unit of Foxconn Technology Co. Ltd as early as 2019, the first time the Taiwanese contract manufacturer will have made the product in the country, according to three people familiar with the matter. Importantly, Foxconn will be assembling the most expensive models, such as the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, the person said, potentially taking Apple’s business in India to a new level.

The work will take place at Foxconn’s plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, the person added. Foxconn, which already makes phones for Xiaomi Corp. in India, will invest ₹2,500 crore to expand the plant, including investment in iPhone production, Tamil Nadu’s industries minister M.C. Sampath told Reuters. The investment may create as many as 25,000 jobs, he added.

A second person declined to be named as this person is not authorised to speak to the media. A third person confirmed Foxconn planned to assemble iPhones in India. The Hindu newspaper first reported on 24 December that the Foxconn plant would begin manufacturing various models of the iPhone. Reuters is first to report the size of the investment and the kind of phones to be assembled.

Lower-end phones
Until now, the Cupertino, California-based Apple has only assembled the lower-cost iPhone SE and 6S models in India through Wistron Corp.’s local unit in Bengaluru. Its sales in India have also been focused on lower-end phones—more than half of its sales volume is driven by models older than the iPhone 8, launched last year, according to technology research firm Counterpoint.

Apple launched the pricey iPhone X last year but has cut production of that phone, according to industry analysts, since it began selling the newer versions, iPhone XS and XR, globally this year. Still, it could potentially get Foxconn to make the older iPhone X version in India where it sells cheaper models in a bid to get a bigger share of the world’s fastest growing major mobile phone market.

Full details of Apple’s deal with Foxconn are not yet clear and could change. It is not known if any of the iPhone assembly is being moved from existing Foxconn factories in China and elsewhere. It is also unclear whether the production will be confined to assembly or include any component production in India.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment for this story. Apple shocked investors last month with a lower-than-expected sales forecast for the Christmas quarter that jolted parts suppliers across the world. Foxconn has previously expressed concern over demand for Apple’s flagship devices. Foxconn said it does not comment on matters related to current or potential customers, or any of their products. It did not immediately respond to a request seeking confirmation that it was investing $356 million in Tamil Nadu.