Vaishnaw credits Make-in-India push for Bengaluru plant after Rahul Gandhi touts Karnataka ecosystem

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, thanked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for “recognizing the success” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Made in India programme.

Mr. Vaishnaw was responding to a Facebook post by Mr. Gandhi praising Karnataka’s business ecosystem, citing a news report that Foxconn, a supplier to tech firm Apple, had hired thousands of workers for a factory in Devanahalli.

“This is not just a statistic,” Mr. Gandhi wrote, referring to a report that 30,000 workers had been hired at the facility in just a few months, but “transformative job creation.” “What makes the unit even stronger is that the unit is largely run by women, with around 80% being women, mostly aged 19-24, and for many of them, this is their first job. Karnataka is setting an example by creating an ecosystem where manufacturing can grow at this scale and pace.”

Mr Vaishnaw’s response instead credited Mr Modi’s industrial policy, adding: “As you point out, we are becoming a productive economy as we implement our Prime Minister’s vision.”

Foxconn factory

Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge also credited the record increase reported as a result of State policies. “The ₹20,000 crore investment spread across a 300-acre campus is delivering strong results (in the manufacturing unit),” Mr. Kharge wrote to X.

“Karnataka is India’s leading ESDM (Electronic System Design and Manufacturing) investment hub and a major chip design cluster,” Mr. Kharge wrote. “We now own 50% of India’s electronic product companies, 40% of electronic design and 10% of electronics manufacturing. Adhering to our robust ESDM Policy, we are creating a strong ecosystem for electronics design and high-volume manufacturing.”

“More than 80% of production is export-oriented, ensuring Karnataka’s solid inclusion in Apple’s global supply chain,” the Minister of State added.