The electronics manufacturing sector is emerging as a major source of large-scale blue-collar employment for women in India, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday, highlighting a significant shift in the country’s industrial workforce composition.
The minister’s remarks come amid reports that Taiwan-based contract manufacturing major Foxconn has onboarded nearly 30,000 workers at its new iPhone assembly facility in Bengaluru within a span of eight to nine months, with women accounting for close to 80 per cent of the workforce. The development underscores the growing participation of women in India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem.
In a post on social media platform X, Vaishnaw observed that a factory of such scale, largely staffed by women, would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. He noted that the electronics sector continues to generate skilled blue-collar jobs at scale, particularly for women, while also contributing to technology transfer, women’s empowerment and improved ease of living.
The new Foxconn facility, located at Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru, has reportedly recruited a large number of first-time entrants to the formal workforce. Most of the women employed at the plant fall within the 19–24 age group, reflecting the sector’s growing role in providing early employment opportunities to young women.
According to industry reports, the facility began trial production in April–May this year with the assembly of the iPhone 16. It is currently manufacturing the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max models, with more than 80 per cent of the output intended for export markets. This export-oriented production aligns with India’s broader push to strengthen its position in global electronics manufacturing and supply chains.
Foxconn is investing approximately ₹20,000 crore in the Devanahalli project. Spread over nearly 2.5 lakh square feet of production floor area, the plant is expected to become the company’s largest manufacturing facility in India in terms of both employment and production capacity. By next year, total employment at the facility is projected to rise to around 50,000 workers.
Once fully operational, the Bengaluru facility is also expected to surpass Foxconn’s first iPhone manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, which currently employs about 41,000 workers. The expansion signals a deepening of Foxconn’s manufacturing presence in India, supported by both central and state-level policy initiatives aimed at boosting electronics production.
In October, Foxconn had announced an additional investment of ₹15,000 crore in Tamil Nadu, a move expected to generate around 14,000 high-value jobs. The company currently operates manufacturing units across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana, indicating a broad-based expansion strategy within the country.
The minister’s comments reflect a broader narrative around the electronics sector’s contribution to employment generation, particularly for women, at a time when India is positioning itself as a global manufacturing hub. With large-scale investments, export-driven production and rising female workforce participation, the sector is increasingly being viewed as a key pillar of industrial growth and social transformation.
