New Delhi, March 16 (IANS): In a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Apple is set to start the local production of AirPods for exports in the country — its second product category after iPhones which have become a mega success due to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. As per industry sources, the production of Apple AirPods (those without Active Noise Cancellation or ANC) is for exports purpose at the moment. The AirPods’ production is slated to commence by April at the Foxconn plant in Hyderabad. There was, however, no official word from the company yet. India’s TWS market shipments rose 14 per cent YoY in 2024, according to the latest research from Counterpoint. The growth in shipments was driven by seasonal sales events, affordable offerings, and usage expansion towards various applications, coupled with broader channel availability. Meanwhile, riding on the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, Apple reached all-time high iPhone export figures from India at Rs 1 lakh crore for the 10 months (April-January) in the current financial year (FY25). According to industry data, in the month of January, the iPhone exports reached around Rs 19,000 crore, an all-time high. The overall iPhone exports from the country grew more than 30 per cent in the 10 months this fiscal (April-January 2025) compared to the same period last fiscal (Rs 76,000 crore). India is a huge market for Apple and “we have achieved a December quarter growth record where the iPhone was the top selling model in the country for the October-December period of 2024,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said recently. Apple recently announced a groundbreaking new lineup of AirPods models and features. The new AirPods 4 are the most advanced and comfortable headphones Apple has ever created with an open-ear design.