India passed a new labor law last month in the state of Karnataka that allows laborers to work 12-hour shifts and for women to work in the night shift. Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn were major influencers in this decision.

While these two major companies were leading the lobbying for the new law, there were also other foreign companies in that group, namely Pegatron Corp. and Wistron Corp., two other manufacturing companies that Apple works with.

The new liberal law allows manufacturing companies to have two 12-hour shifts daily, which is something Apple and Foxconn already work with in China. For Karnataka, this is a landmark move and will open it up to become a major manufacturing hub.

While their Chinese manufacturing is smooth because the country already permits everything this law liberalized, this gives Foxconn the opportunity to expand their plants and take advantage of a new market.

The current Indian government has a ‘Make in India’ initiative under which it promotes and invites foreign companies to increase manufacturing within the country. The country is also a significant market for the company, especially if it gets some cost benefits due to the in-house manufacturing cost.

“India is due to become the next big manufacturing hub. When we compare India with other countries . . . we have to increase by a big margin our efficiency in terms of increasing the work output.

an Indian government official said, who asked to remain anonymous (as reported by Financial Times)

This new legislation limits the weekly working hours to 48 but increases the quarterly limit in overtime hours to 145.

The new law with more flexible shifts enables women to work night shifts without having to take night buses, which can often be unsafe. An official close to the situation told Bloomberg that Apple and its suppliers are looking to build working women’s hostels around the factory to reduce traveling challenges.

With the global supply chain heavily disrupted, India stands to benefit hugely by becoming a manufacturing hub alongside China. Companies wanting to double down on their manufacturing also see India as a rising opportunity as it is set to take over China in population soon.

Foxconn already makes iPhones in a plant in Tamil Nadu, but wants to expand their plants to the states of Karnataka and Telangana in the near future.

Along with increasing manufacturing in the country, as previously reported, Apple is also planning for retail stores in at least Delhi and Mumbai metro cities. While this has been in the talks from before the COVID-19 pandemic spread in India in 2020, they have begun hiring for the same in the last few months. Currently, the brand’s retail presence is through third-party retailers and retail marketplaces.

Apple already operates its online store since September 2020 in the country.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on March 21 with more information reported by Bloomberg.