Apple iPhones will be made at a new 300-acre facility in Karnataka soon, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced Friday.
CM Bommai said this would create one lakh jobs in Karnataka, a state that faces Assembly election in about two months.
A delegation of Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that makes iPhones for Apple, held talks with IT/BT Minister CN Ashwath Narayan. The delegation led by Foxconn CEO Young Liu was shown the 300-acre KIADB plot in Doddaballapur, about 40 km from Bengaluru.
Foxconn reportedly plans to invest $700 million (Rs 5,700 crore) on a new plant in India to ramp up local production.
"Apple phones to be built in a new 300 acre factory in Karnataka," Chandrasekhar, India's junior IT minister, said in a tweet, crediting the "double engine" government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bommai. Both governments are working to "create investments and jobs and $1 trillion economy for Karnataka," he added.
"Apart from creating one lakh jobs, the iPhone facility will create a whole lot of opportunities for Karnataka," Bommai said, adding that his government would contribute its share to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025.
Narayan held a preliminary meeting with Foxconn officials after receiving them at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). According to the minister, Foxconn wants to set up its unit close to an airport. So, the team was taken to the Doddaballapur industrial area, which is about 20-25 minutes away from the KIA. The Foxconn team was given a tour of the Terminal-2 of the airport.
During the meeting, Narayan told Foxconn about Karnataka's industrial ecosystem, IT and technical education, the government's efforts on skill development and availability of trained human resouces. Narayan, who is also the higher education minister, said the government had introduced reforms in the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), polytechnic and engineering education. "About 1.5 lakh engineering graduates are coming out every year from 270 engineering colleges in the state," he pointed out.
A statement from Narayan's office quoted Liu as saying that Bengaluru is the preferred destination for global companies and a forerunner in attracting investments.