India to get its first homegrown iPhone maker as Tata Group nears takeover, says source

The Tata Group soon might start manufacturing iPhones in India as it's all set to acquire a major producing plant in Karnataka -- Wistron's iPhone factory. The group has been in talks with this Taiwanese company for months now. The deal will be finalised by the end of March this year,a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The source also claimed that both companies have been discussing the deal for a long and have decided thatTata Group should take amajority of the joint venture. Though, the official statements have not yet been made. The deal is expected to be completed by March.

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If the Tata Group is able to acquire the factory, then it will be India's first home-grown iPhone manufacturer, which is likely to give a boost to the government's aim of making India an electronic manufacturing hub. According to India Today, some iPhones are assembled in India but are not manufactured.

In an interview with Bloomberg, N Ganapathy Subramaniam, the operating chief at Tata Consultancy Services said, "I am not directly involved in that, but it should be really good for India because this is going to create an opportunity in India to manufacture electronics and microelectronics."

If iPhone production beginsin India, then itmight be possible that the devices will be available to usersat cheaper rates than they usually are.

(With inputs from agencies)

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