Days after reports that iPhone manufacturer Foxconn is building hostels for about 60,000 employees near its manufacturing plant in Chennai to boost the production of Apple devices, the latest report said Apple is also planning to increase manufacturing in India amid COVID-19-related supply chain issues in China.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has said some Apple suppliers have applied for land with the authority, with a proposed investment of Rs 2,800 crore while generating thousands of jobs, according to sources.

Currently, Foxconn manufactures iPhones at its facility in Sriperumbudur. The contract manufacturing company employs over 15,000 workers, most of which are women. In the next 18 months, the number of employees is expected to go up to 70,000. In response to the strong domestic demand for Apple products and the company’s aim to diversify away from China, “brisk construction" is going on at a 20-acre plot in Tamil Nadu.The government has also approved Rs 357.17 crore for Apple’s vendor Foxconn India and Rs 58.29 crore for Dixon Technologies subsidiary Padget Electronics under the Production-Linked Incentive scheme for mobile phones.YEIDA CEO Arun Vir Singh told news agency IANS that the Apple suppliers have already deposited 10 per cent of the proposed allocation for land in Sector 29 under the Yamuna Authority near the upcoming Jewar airport in Greater Noida.

“Seiko Advance Limited, an ink manufacturing company, expressed its desire to make its product on 5 acres of land in Sector 29 of YEIDA," Singh said. Seiko Advance Limited alone will invest Rs 850 crore and provide employment to thousands of people, he added.

Sector 29 is well-developed with several available facilities for companies.

The Apple suppliers, along with a known camera parts maker, proposed to set up a unit on about 23 acres of land with a proposed investment of Rs 2,800 crore. Singh said Apple suppliers proposed the investment at a recently-held meeting in South Korea.