Foxconn In Talks To Open iPhone Plant In India: Report

Rumors have it that in the near future Apple's iPhones could be manufactured in India. Foxconn, the main manufacturing partner of Apple, may have been given the green light to build a manufacturing plant in that country. Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra, confirmed that the government was in talks about setting up an iPhone plant there, reports BGR.

Recently, Fadnavis and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China. During the visit, Fadnavis said he traveled to Foxconn's manufacturing facility in Henan Province, China. He said the Chinese company would be building manufacturing centers in Pune or Aurangabad in Maharashtra. The Foxconn unit in China employs more than 300,000 people and it manufactures iPhones, including the latest iPhone 6.

Since Apple does not have a manufacturing plant in India, it is barred from selling the iPhones in the country, claims Phone Arena. A move by Apple to manufacture in India would help it sell iPhones there. Reports claim that the government of India is in favor of Foxconn manufacturing centers for building iPhones as they can greatly boost the economy of the country by increasing employment.

However, there is no word on whether a final deal is imminent. The extent and scope of the proposal also are not known. It is believed that certain parts would be built in India, while the assembly of the iPhones would continue to be done in China by Foxconn, adds Phone Arena.

BGR claims that if Foxconn establishes an iPhone plant in India, it would be another attempt by the Chinese firm to re-enter India after three of its manufacturing facilities were shut down after the acquisition of Nokia by Microsoft. Nearly 1,700 workers were affected by the closure of the Foxconn factories in December 2014.

Maharashtra is in the western region of India. It is inhabited by more than 110 million people, among whom 18 million live in Mumbai. As of this writing, both Apple and Foxconn have not made any public announcement on building a manufacturing center for making iPhones or other iDevices in India.