A political exchange unfolded on social media this week after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi praised the Karnataka government for enabling rapid job creation at iPhone manufacturer Foxconn’s facility near Bengaluru, prompting Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to credit the Centre’s Make in India programme.
Rahul Gandhi highlighted what he described as the “fastest factory ramp-up seen in India so far,” citing reports that Foxconn hired nearly 30,000 workers in just eight to nine months, with women accounting for around 80 per cent of the workforce. Sharing an Economic Times report on Facebook, Gandhi said the development represented transformative job creation, especially as most of the women employees—aged between 19 and 24—were entering the workforce for the first time.
“Karnataka is setting an example by creating an ecosystem where manufacturing can grow at this scale and speed,” Gandhi said, adding that such employment offered “jobs with dignity and opportunities for all.”
The comments drew a response from Ashwini Vaishnaw, who acknowledged Gandhi’s post but reframed it as an endorsement of the Centre’s industrial policy. In a post on X, Vaishnaw thanked Gandhi for “acknowledging the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India programme,” stating that India was steadily transforming into a producer economy under the Prime Minister’s vision.
Foxconn, Apple’s key contract manufacturer, plays a central role in Apple’s strategy to diversify production away from China. The Bengaluru-area facility is expected to assemble up to 20 million iPhones annually once fully operational, including newer models such as the iPhone 17.
According to industry estimates, iPhones worth $22 billion have been assembled in India over the past year, with the country now contributing nearly 20 per cent of Apple’s global iPhone production—a figure that underscores India’s growing importance in global electronics manufacturing.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
