New Delhi, April 23 (IANS): As India becomes the second nation in the world in terms of mobile manufacturing, the Apple ecosystem is now one of the leading employment generators in the sector, Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

Mobile manufacturing has been a leading force in job creation in the last 10 years, as the government aims to make India a global manufacturing hub.

“In the ecosystem of Apple alone, more than 1.5 lakh people have got employment and there is good amount of growth. In the future, you will see even more exponential growth because people have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a global manufacturing hub,” Ashwini Vaishnaw told IANS during an interaction.

iPhone factories in the country are set to hire more than 10,000 people directly in the peak June-September period.

Apple is doubling down on investing in India and is reportedly in advanced talks with Tata Group's Titan Company and Murugappa Group to assemble sub-components for phone camera modules.

Last year, Tata Group acquired Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron's India operations for $125 million. It is also reportedly eyeing to acquire Pegatron's iPhone manufacturing facility near Chennai.

Apple aims to manufacture more than 50 million iPhones in India per year, as it aims to shift some of the production out from China.

The company’s increased investments in India come as the growth of mobile phone production in the country over a decade is being described as an unmatched success story in the manufacturing sector.

The FY24 production of iPhones exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore, with 70 per cent exports and a total market value of Rs 1.6 lakh crore.