Foxconn Bengaluru unit to make 2 crore iPhones a year from April

BENGALURU: Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, a key supplier to Apple Inc, will start manufacturing iPhones at the company's Devanahalli facility in Bengaluru by next April.
The Rs 13,600-crore project is expected to create 50,000 jobs. Foxconn aims to complete the project in three phases and has set a target of rolling out two crore iPhones annually from the new plant upon completion of all three phases.
"The 300 acres of land identified at ITIR (information technology investment region) in Devanahalli will be handed over to Foxconn by July 1 this year. Additionally, the government will ensure supply of 5 MLD (million litres per day) of water, quality power, road connectivity and other infrastructure facilities," MB Patil, Karnataka's industries minister, said.
Patil made the announcement after Foxconn representatives, led by George Chu, made a courtesy call on him here. Priyank Kharge, Karnataka's information technology and biotechnology minister, was also present.

The announcement comes just weeks after the new Congress-led government took over in Karnataka. Patil said Foxconn has been told to provide details of the skill sets it seeks from its employees.
Accordingly, he said, steps will be taken to facilitate training programmes for eligible candidates to make them employable.

The company has already paid 30% of the cost of land (Rs 90 crore) to Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). Officials at the state industries department said the government has expedited setting up of the Rs 13,600 crore project.
In March, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced that Apple would "soon" start manufacturing iPhones at a new plant in Bengaluru, thereby generating "about 100,000 jobs".

After Bommai claimed to have signed an MoU with Foxconn to manufacture iPhones in Karnataka and that land had already been allocated near Bengaluru airport to the Cupertino-based company, Telangana government issued a statement, saying Foxconn chairman Young Liu, in a letter addressed to Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, had "explicitly confirmed the commitment" of the company towards setting up of a manufacturing facility in Kongara Kalan village.
This announcement resulted in some confusion. Later, Apple clarified that it would set up facilities in both, Bengaluru as well as Hyderabad.