New Delhi, Apr 18 (IANS): The Apple ecosystem in India has generated over one lakh new direct jobs in manufacturing in the last two years, Minister of State, Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, said on Tuesday.

Apple on Tuesday launched its first own-branded retail store in India, in Mumbai in presence of its CEO Tim Cook. The company will also launch its second store in Delhi on Thursday.

"Propelled by Prime Minister @narendramodi's visionary PLI scheme @Apple ecosystem has generated over one lakh new direct jobs in manufacturing over the last 24 months," the minister tweeted.

"About 70 per cent of these are 19-24 year old women, who are starting their careers, acquiring skills and improving the ease of living for their families," he added.

Apple has ramped up its India manufacturing and in FY23, the iPhone exports surged to over $5 billion from India.

Backed by Apple, India's overall smartphone exports also crossed $10 billion for the first time in a financial year.

Apple began manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017, and since then, the company has worked with suppliers to assemble new iPhone models and produce a growing number of components.