As a symbol of India’s climb up the industrial value chain, it was powerful: Apple recently announced it had begun assembling its iPhone 14 in India, just weeks after its newest model was launched. Three Taiwanese companies that already work for Apple in India — Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron — will be putting the 14 together at their sites in the country’s south, two people familiar with the secretive US company’s operations said. 

Apple gave no specifics on its Indian operations, other than to say it was “excited” to be making the new phone in India. But JPMorgan said in a recent research note that Apple could be making one in four of its iPhones and other devices in India by 2025, as Covid-19 lockdowns and geopolitical friction push it to diversify away from China. 

Speaking to the FT a few days later, Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s railways and IT minister, said the country’s government was “actively encouraging and supporting” Apple’s investments and efforts to build a supply chain in India. He also confirmed that, at least to start, the iPhone operations in India would largely be assembly — presumably based mostly on imported components.