The Indian government has stated that the departure of 300 Chinese workers from the Foxconn plants in south India will not affect the manufacturing of iPhones in the country even as the senior official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) said called it an “opportunity” for Indian engineers. Why Meity called it an opportunity? A senior official from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) said I would look at it more as an opportunity. If the workers want to go back its between the company and the workers. They will have to make arrangements to ensure the work continues -- production wont be impacted. We facilitated their visas”. The official noted that Apple has alternatives but the primary responsibility lies with the company to ensure that the manufacturer doesnt impact production. How iPhone sales could be impacted? Foxconn operates iPhone manufacturing plants in Indias southern states of Tamil Nadu Karnataka and Telangana and its estimated that iPhones worth $14 billion were assembled in India in the 2024-25 fiscal year which means that one out of seven iPhones sold across the world carries a Made in India tag. Thus if the iPhone plants in India slow down manufacturing due to any reason including the departure of Chinese engineers it would drastically impact sales of the Apple flagship across the globe. When did iPhone manufacturing kick off in India? While a decade ago iPhone manufacturing in India was practically negligible Apple began to assemble iPhones in the country from 2017 with newer models now being manufactured at Indian plants. Apple is strengthening its footprint in India as it proves to be a key market with its high population and rapidly growing economy. Additionally the union government also introduced the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that is expected to attract many gadget making moguls other than Apple to establish their presence in the country. Two flagship stores were launched by Apple in Mumbai and Delhi in 2023 and Apple indicated that they are now planning to open four more retail stores in Bengaluru Pune Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. (With ANI inputs)