India Economy Thread

MirageBlue · Sep 16, 2024

New Combat Free Fall parachute system designed by DRDO has been handed over to the IAF now.

India's DRDO unveils new parachute

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) displayed a new Combat Free Fall (CFF) parachute system at the Land Forces 2024 exhibition in Melbourne held from 11 to 13 September.

Speaking to Janes, a DRDO official confirmed the system had “recently qualified” and is now in the process of being supplied to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The DRDO official said the CFF “provides a total solution to paratroopers jumping from as high as 30,000 ft and gliding 30 km to land at a desired target”.

The parachute features a nine-cell ram air design measuring 8.84 m in length and providing a lift/drag ratio of 3.3:1. It offers a maximum forward speed of 40 km/h, supporting descents from 2,000 to 30,000 ft above ground level. Rate of descent is 1,000 ft in two minutes, the DRDO official said.

The CFF system has an assembly weight of 22 kg and a maximum payload of 150 kg. It also features a wrist-mounted altimeter and a GPS-based navigation system as well as a breathing and post bail-out breathing system and an oxygen console.

MirageBlue · Sep 16, 2024

Indian Light Tank Zorawar has undergone field firing tests and the results are apparently very good..

nahtanbob · Sep 16, 2024

DDG-80 said:
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What is this project about ?

nahtanbob · Sep 16, 2024

With expansion in India, Apple bolsters global manufacturing

Apple's release this month of its iPhone 16, new Apple Watch, and AirPods, is creating a buzz among consumers. This year's lineup also marks something else that's new — the role India played in Apple's global rollout as a manufacturer of the iPhone Pro for the first time.

That milestone comes as global corporations are seeking to diversify their production away from China and as competition between the two Asian rivals heats up, analysts say.

Apple first began making iPhones in India in 2017, beginning with the iPhone SE. The move signaled Apple's intent to diversify its supply chains away from China, a move that other tech conglomerates, such as Microsoft and Amazon, made as well, shifting manufacturing away from China to countries such as India and Vietnam.

Foxconn expands to India

Apple's supply chain diversification gained steam during the COVID-19 pandemic when a Foxconn factory unexpectedly closed in China, following clashes between Chinese workers and security personnel over wages and Beijing's strict COVID lockdowns, which impacted factory operations.

Foxconn is Apple's largest contractor and produces more than two-thirds of Apple's iPhones, according to Thibault Denamiel, an associate fellow and Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

According to Denamiel, the Taiwan-based contractor currently produces around 80% of its iPhones in Zhengzhou, known as "iPhone City," and recently opened a new $138 million headquarters in China. However, it has also expanded its operations abroad with significant investments in manufacturing hubs in India.

In 2023, Foxconn made a $1.5 billion investment in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, built a $600 million plant in Karnataka, and built a $500 million plant in Telangana. These investments were made in preparation for the assembly of the new iPhone 16 lineup.

Multinational welcome mat

Jonathan Ward, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, noted that India has been receptive to investments and promoted efforts to attract business from large multinational companies.

"It remains a huge opportunity for them [India] and there have been strategic initiatives such as Sagar Mala and Make it India, in particular, that show, I think a directional desire to gain from this opportunity," he explained to VOA.

New Delhi has offered subsidies to companies in order to boost the manufacturing of IT hardware domestically under India's PLI 2.0 Scheme for IT Hardware. Foxconn is one of the companies that received benefits from these subsidies, which include revenue-based annual payouts to manufacturers.

Monish Tourangbam, director at the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies, said India possesses several key advantages as it seeks to expand its manufacturing sector. He said India has political predictability, an appetite for structural economic reforms, a competitive level of market forces and domestic consumption.

'Entering the game'

However, Tourangbam said India lags behind China in terms of labor skills and maturity, as Beijing has a long history of mass producing high quality electronic goods.

"Yes, in India's case you have a very big demographic dividend, a young workforce, but that young workforce has to be skilled in the right way," he told VOA. "India is entering the game right now, but the Chinese have a longer experience of a workforce which is required for this kind of job [producing electronics] and I think we are just seeing the beginning of this."

Ward agreed but added there is a big gap between India and China's manufacturing experience.

"At this point, China has spent 30 years building an enormous industrial base, which is larger than that of the United States, and they've invested very specifically in key strategic industries and have become a critical part of today's electronic supply chain," he said. "Whereas India has not done that, it does not have that history, and ... therefore the workforce, services, all of that ... has been, I think, built accordingly."

Ward said that even though India may be behind China in terms of their industrial base, companies' fear of geopolitical risks with China "bode well for India's future."

"The geopolitical risks of commercial engagement with China or China-based supply chains are becoming so large that both at a government level and at a national strategic level as well as at a corporate level, people have to go and look for future manufacturing opportunities, particularly in electronics, because that's where the bulk of China's trading value is concentrated," he said.

Denamiel also said geopolitical factors will play a role as to where companies will decide to manufacture.

"Geopolitical factors play an increasingly large role on where companies choose to invest – because their ability to grow their operations and access customers is increasingly tied to geopolitical developments, which are currently complicating the global trade landscape," he said in an email to VOA.

Tourangbam said geopolitical factors will be included in companies' manufacturing strategies. But he said companies' diversification should not be thought of as leaving China, but rather as a "China plus one strategy."

"It's not … we are finding this alternative like India and Vietnam, we are totally moving out of China," he said. "A lot of headlines seem to make it like that, but I don't think that's the case. So it's a China plus one and not a minus China strategy."

nahtanbob · Sep 16, 2024

Exclusive: Pegatron in talks with Tata to sell its only India iPhone plant, sources say

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/pegatron-talks-with-tata-sell-its-only-india-iphone-plant-sources-say-2024-04-08/

Taiwan's Pegatron reducing its Apple iPhone business
Tata eyeing key Pegatron India plant to boost its plans-sources
Tata already has two planned iPhone assembly plants
Deal with Pegatron could take six months to close-source

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI, April 8 (Reuters) - Pegatron (4938.TW), opens new tab is in advanced talks to hand over control of its only iPhone manufacturing facility in India to the Tata Group, said two sources with direct knowledge, marking the Taiwanese firm's latest scale back of its Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab partnership.
Under the deal, which has received the backing of Apple, Tata plans to hold at least a 65% stake in a joint venture that will operate the Pegatron plant near Chennai city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with the Taiwanese firm providing technical support and holding the rest, one of the sources said.

Tata, one the largest conglomerates in India, will operate the joint venture through its Tata Electronics unit, the second source said.
The Pegatron India factory has around 10,000 employees and makes 5 million iPhones annually. It is the last such facility operated by the firm after it forfeited control of an iPhone plant in China last year to rival Luxshare (002475.SZ), opens new tab in a $290 million deal.
Tata and Pegatron did not respond to emailed requests for comments. Apple declined to comment. The sources did not share financial details of the ongoing negotiations.

Apple is increasingly looking to diversify its supply chain beyond China amid geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington. For India's Tata, the Chennai Pegatron plant will bolster its iPhone manufacturing plans.
Tata already operates an iPhone assembly plant in the neighbouring southern state of Karnataka, which it took over from Taiwan's Wistron (3231.TW), opens new tab last year, and is also building another in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, where Pegatron is likely to emerge as its joint venture partner.

Pegatron has for months also been building another iPhone factory at its Chennai campus, and the Tata deal talks include taking over that facility as well, the first source said.
The talks between Tata and Pegatron for the factory are expected to close in six months and will see all of the Pegatron India employees move to the joint venture entity, the first source added.
Apple's iPhone contract manufacturers in India currently include Tata, Pegatron and Foxconn (2317.TW), opens new tab. Tata is key to Apple's growing ambitions in India, which analysts estimate will contribute 20-25% of total iPhone shipments this year, from 12-14% last year.

The reasons for Pegatron's gradual withdrawal from its Apple business, including in India, were not known. Last year, Pegatron said the China plant deal was done to raise capital to "optimise its business".

Kaleem.61 · Sep 18, 2024

nahtanbob said:
Why would I spend $1400 on Android phone ?

Huawei has received 5 million pre-orders for its Tri-Fold phone, priced at $2800—essentially the cost of three iPhone 16 Pros. While impressive, it's a price I can't personally justify. I've never spent more than $400 on a phone, and currently, my midrange device costs less than $200, and it meets all my needs.

Why do I need a phone?

For calls, WhatsApp, navigation, and the occasional photo. My Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 does all of that perfectly. So, I don't feel the need for a high-end device.

Ultimately, a phone should serve your needs. If you believe only an iPhone or a premium device fulfills those needs, then that's the right choice for you.

nahtanbob · Sep 18, 2024

Kaleem.61 said:
Huawei has received 5 million pre-orders for its Tri-Fold phone, priced at $2800—essentially the cost of three iPhone 16 Pros. While impressive, it's a price I can't personally justify. I've never spent more than $400 on a phone, and currently, my midrange device costs less than $200, and it meets all my needs.

Why do I need a phone?

For calls, WhatsApp, navigation, and the occasional photo. My Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 does all of that perfectly. So, I don't feel the need for a high-end device.

Ultimately, a phone should serve your needs. If you believe only an iPhone or a premium device fulfills those needs, then that's the right choice for you.

I have a iPhone SE (I got it for $240). Before that I have used Samsung Galaxy and Google Nexus devices.

These are the following advantages from my vantage point -
some storage on iCloud
excellent power management (have not had the same luck with Android phones)
find my Phone feature is great for locating the phone when I misplace it (saved my ass quite a few times)

I know folks who have splurged $1000+ on their iPhones. These are people who are careful with their money. They insist the money spent on the iPhones is worth every dime

I suppose to each their own

CallSignMaverick · Sep 20, 2024

India's indigenous bullet trains to be rolled out in 2026, to be tested on MAHSR line currently being built for Japanese E5 Shinkansen HSRs.

Circadian Rhythm · Sep 20, 2024

Circadian Rhythm · Sep 20, 2024

DDG-80 · Sep 21, 2024

https://www.hindustantimes.com/real-estate/bcd-group-to-lease-900-apartments-to-apple-iphone-maker-foxconn-in-bengaluru-township-project-101726045208917.html

hydrabadi_arab · Sep 21, 2024

Kaleem.61 said:
I believe the iPhone is easier to buy compared to other smartphones. For example, you can purchase a $1,000 iPhone with 24 equal installments of about $40 per month. While Apple is considered a luxury brand, this financing option makes it more affordable for many people.

On the other hand, the PURA 70 costs around $1,400, which shows that Android users can also opt for premium, high-end devices. It's inaccurate to label Android users as 'non-luxurious,' as many Android models are just as expensive and feature-rich as the iPhone

Its waste of money to buy new android phone. Wait few months and same phone will be on offer 50% off.

Which is why android high end phones dont sell anywhere near iphone sales.

nahtanbob · Sep 21, 2024

MSN

Apple is assembling iPhone 16 in Brazil alongside India and China

Apple launched the new iPhone 16 series on September 9 at the “It's Glowtime" event. While the pre-orders have just begun, a report already suggests that the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models are in higher demand.

At the same time, the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max have registered lower pre-order numbers compared to their predecessors.

According to a MacMagazine report, Apple is assembling the iPhone 16 in Brazil at its Foxconn facility in Jundiaí, São Paulo, alongside India and China.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time Apple has used its Brazil facility to assemble the iPhone. However, this is the first time Apple has used its Brazil facility to assemble a recently launched iPhone from day one.

However, Apple is only assembling the base model iPhone 16 in Brazil, while the most expensive units will be shipped from China.