NEW DELHI: iPhone maker Apple through its vendors is expected to employ over 5 lakh people in India over the next three years, according to government sources.

At present Apple’s vendors and suppliers employ 1.5 lakh people in India. Tata Electronics, which runs two plants for Apple, is the biggest job generator.

“Apple is accelerating hiring in India. At a conservative estimate, it is going to employ five lakh people in the next three years through its vendors and components suppliers,” a senior government officer told PTI.

When contacted, Apple declined to comment on the projection.

Apple has plans to scale up production in India by over five-fold to around USD 40 billion (about 3.32 lakh crore) in the next 4-5 years.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple led the India market with the highest revenue in 2023 for the first time, while Samsung topped the chart in terms of volume sales.

The firm in its recent report said Apple surpassed the 10-million-unit mark in shipments and captured the top position in revenue in a calendar year for the first time.

Apple’s iPhone exports from India rose sharply to USD 12.1 billion in 2023-24 from USD 6.27 billion in 2022-23, representing a massive surge of nearly 100 per cent, according to trade intelligence platform The Trade Vision.