Good morning. Earlybird here with your daily dosa of business & tech news, hot out of the griddle.

In this edition:

• 🍏 Apple triples iPhone production in India

• 🏗️ Reliance eyes $2.4-$3B infra trust

• 🖥️ Nvidia’s new AI-powered graphics chips

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

• Markets: The Indian stock market ended on a flat note, amidst a volatile trading session. While the IT sector faced the worst impact, the realty sector emerged victorious with gains.

LOGISTICS

Apple triples iPhone production in India

🍏 Apple has reportedly tripled its iPhone production in India as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce its reliance on China. Here’s what we know:

• Just how we got ‘Made in India’ iPhones in the first place, this move comes from rising tensions between the US and China and concerns over supply chain disruptions.

• India continues to offer a large and growing consumer market, a skilled workforce, and a favorable business environment.

• Additionally, the Indian government's push for self-reliance has created new incentives for foreign companies to invest in the country's manufacturing sector.

📈 Current stats. Apple now manufactures almost 7% of its total iPhone production in India, and has already cooked up $7B worth of iPhones in the country with the help of their friends over at Foxconn Technology Group.

The line up

• India is where Apple produces the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14.

• It was recently announced that it would also produce AirPods in the nation in addition to the above.

• While the other Pro versions in the lineup will reportedly be made in China, there are also rumors that the next iPhone 15 model will be made in India.

LOGISTICS

Reliance turns its focus to monetizing retail warehousing assets

🏗️ Like Monopoly on steroids. Reliance Industries, led by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is in the process of setting up an InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) worth $2.4-$3B to monetize the conglomerate’s retail warehousing assets. Here’s the gist of it:

❓️ What is an InvIT? An InvIT is a type of investment vehicle that pools funds from multiple investors to invest in infrastructure projects. The trust generates income from these projects and distributes it to its investors.

🎈 How fast are they expanding? At the end of 2022, Reliance’s total warehouse and fulfillment space was 33.6 million sq feet — about triple the 10.6 million sq feet in Q3/FY20.

💻️ IoT-powered. To increase automation, efficiency, and dependability in its warehouse operations, the group also prides itself in providing connection and IoT (Internet of Things) solutions.

MANUFACTURING

Vivo adds Rs 1,100 cr to boost production capacity in Greater Noida

📱 Vivo, one of the foremost smartphone manufacturers in the land, is set to invest an additional Rs. 1,100 crore in ramping up its manufacturing capacity in Greater Noida. Here’s what you need to know:

The ~ Plan ~

• Vivo is on track to finish its first investment phase by the end of 2023, which is part of its long-term allocation of Rs 7,500 crore.

• Having already consumed 2,500 crore, an extra Rs 1,100 crore will be spent to boost its industrial capacity and further the government's goal of making India a major export center.

• The new Greater Noida facility is expected to start producing by early 2024.

📷️ Bigger pic. With India's rapidly growing tech industry and the government's push for self-reliance, Vivo's investment in Greater Noida signals the company's commitment to the Indian market. As the world's second-largest smartphone market, India presents a significant opportunity for global tech companies like Vivo.

INDIA EDITION: WHAT ELSE IS ON THE BIRDWATCH

• 🚗 Over 20% surge in car sales. Auto sales in India have surged by a whopping 20.3% YoY in FY23, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The impressive growth is largely attributed to the strong demand for passenger vehicles as consumers in India embrace car ownership amid the pandemic.

• 🚢 Exports on a record high. India's exports have hit a record high of $770B in FY23, a 14% increase from the previous fiscal year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• 🏨 Indian Hotels is scoochin’ next to Cochin. Tata Group company Indian Hotels has signed an agreement with Cochin International Airport Limited to operate a new hotel project near the runway with a Rs 100 crore investment.

FUNDING DEALS

Catch up on the Indian funding flows from the past 24hrs:

• Pi Ventures, an early-stage focused VC, has secured Rs 100 crore ($13M) from Small Industries Development Bank of India's (SIDBI) Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), in a move to strengthen its investment capabilities and support young deep tech startups in India.

• PhonePe, the all-around payments app, has raised an additional $100M in funding from General Atlantic, which had already bet $350M on PhonePe at the start of the year.

WORLD

Headline Explorer

📻️ NPR boycots Twitter over “government-funded“ tag. NPR a.ka. the National Public Radio is taking a break from tweeting after Twitter labelled it a "government-funded" outlet (like it did with BBC). NPR stated that its org accounts would stop using Twitter in protest of the social media giant ‘undermining its credibility.‘

🖥️ Nvidia’s new AI-powered graphics chips. Graphics card giant Nvidia is planning to sell its new RTX 4070 graphics chip at shocking below-mid-range price of $599. How? With AI technology that would enhance the chips performance through dynamic graphics generation.

🎣 Hong Kong lures Chinese crypto firms into city. Hong Kong’s financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission, is reportedly in talks with several crypto firms in mainland China to encourage them to set up shop in the city to boost its status as a financial hub.

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