Latest news with #India-made
Mint
11 hours ago
- Health
- Mint
Pebble Halo smart ring review: Stylish, lightweight, and not quite there yet
I've never been a fan of bulky wearables. Smartwatches are useful, sure, but they're often overkill for people who just want the basics. So when I got my hands on the Pebble Halo, a compact, India-made smart ring promising core health features in a barely-there design, I was curious. Could this tiny thing really replace a band or watch for everyday tracking? After wearing it for a week, during work, sleep, a few workouts, and even a wedding, I have mixed feelings. Visually, the Pebble Halo doesn't look 'techy' at all, and that's a win. The golden version I wore passed off as a regular metal ring. It didn't clash with formals, gym wear, or PJs. More importantly, I forgot I was even wearing it after the first day. That's how light and unobtrusive it is. Pebble Halo smart ring review Just be careful with sizing. Once you pick a size, there's no going back. Pebble gives you a physical ring sizer in the box, but it's still a bit of a gamble if you're in between sizes. There's a tiny OLED display that shows your steps, heart rate, battery, and time. It has tap functionality and looks futuristic, but I barely used it. Most of the real info lives in the app, and the screen is hard to read outdoors. Pebble Halo smart ring review If you want a fuss-free tracker for steps, heart rate, and sleep, the Halo does the job. I wore it during a morning walk, a sweaty yoga session, and even while crashing on the couch for a power nap. The data was mostly in line with my smartwatch, though step counts were occasionally optimistic. Sleep tracking was more accurate than expected. It correctly logged my restless nights and early wakeups, impressive for something this small. Pebble Halo smart ring review But fitness folks, this isn't for you yet. No workout modes, no GPS, no HR zones. Think of it as a wellness tracker, not a fitness assistant. The Pebble app is easy to navigate, and syncing was fast. You get your daily stats and trends, but that's where it ends. No deep dive. It's fine for casual users, but data nerds will feel short-changed. Pebble Halo smart ring review Pebble claims four days, and I got about three and a half with regular checking and one workout a day. Not bad, but I was hoping for more. The charging dock is compact, though, and gets it back to full in under an hour. If you hate wristbands or smartwatches but still want to keep an eye on your health. If you're just getting into health tracking and don't want to spend ₹ 20K on a smart ring. 20K on a smart ring. If you like your gadgets minimal and invisible. It's perfect for light, everyday tracking, steps, sleep, heart rate, without pulling focus from your lifestyle. The Pebble Halo is a likeable first-gen product. It looks good, wears well, and delivers on the basics. But it's not quite ready to replace your fitness tracker or smartwatch, especially if you're after deeper insights or training data. Still, for under ₹ 9,000, it's one of the most accessible smart rings in the market right now. If you're curious about smart rings and don't need bells and whistles, this is a solid way to start. Pebble is on the right track. I just hope version two focuses more on depth than display.
News18
3 days ago
- Business
- News18
Apple Ships $5-Billion iPhones From India In Q1 FY26, India's Smartphone Exports Hit $7 Billion
Last Updated: India's total smartphone exports cross $7 billion in the June quarter, marking over 40% growth year-on-year from approximately $5 billion in Q1 FY25. Apple has exported over $5 billion worth of iPhones from India during the April–June quarter of FY26, accounting for nearly 70% of the country's total smartphone exports, according to preliminary data reviewed by Moneycontrol. This is a sharp rise from around $3 billion in the same quarter last year, underscoring India's growing role in global electronics manufacturing. Fuelled by Apple's ongoing production ramp-up via Foxconn and Tata Electronics, India's total smartphone exports crossed $7 billion in the June quarter, marking over 40% growth year-on-year from approximately $5 billion in Q1 FY25. While Apple's iPhone exports remained strong, they were slightly lower than the January-March quarter, when shipments touched Rs 48,000 crore ($5.58 billion). That earlier spike was partially driven by Apple building inventory ahead of new U.S. import tariffs effective April 2. A slight dip in Q1 is typical, as global demand softens in anticipation of new iPhone launches in September. Foxconn and Tata Lead the Export Charge Foxconn contributed the majority of iPhone shipments in the quarter, with Tata Electronics — which recently took over Pegatron's operations — also playing a significant role. A large portion of India-made iPhones continues to be exported to the US market. Moneycontrol report cited an industry executive as saying. The executive further noted that the entire $2 billion jump in India's electronics exports in Q1 came solely from smartphones. In FY25, India's smartphone production touched $64 billion, with exports accounting for $24.1 billion — or about 38% of the total output. From being ranked 167th among export categories in FY15, smartphones have now emerged as India's third-largest export by FY25, trailing only engineering goods and petroleum products. China's Informal Restrictions Raise Concerns The Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents major players including Apple, Foxconn, Tata Electronics, Google, Dixon, Lava, Oppo, and Xiaomi, has raised alarms over China's informal trade restrictions. In a letter dated July 1 to IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, ICEA warned that such disruptions pose a risk to India's $32 billion export-linked electronics manufacturing and the gains made under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The industry describes these measures as 'carefully calibrated" restrictions that are impacting the import of capital equipment, critical minerals, and Chinese skilled technical personnel — resources vital for scaling up electronics production. 'The interventions by the Government will ensure supply chain continuity, enable technology transfers, and—most importantly—preserve India's competitiveness as a manufacturing hub by keeping overall manufacturing costs low," ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo wrote in the letter, which was also sent to the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of External Affairs, and DPIIT. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Mint
4 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Sigachi disaster: The blast must jolt pharma regulators out of their slumber
The 30 June explosion, which ripped through Sigachi Industries Ltd's pharmaceutical plant in Hyderabad, has left the already bruised reputation of India's pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in tatters. The blast—which claimed the lives of 44 workers and critically injured 33 more, with eight officially listed as 'missing"—has once again put the spotlight on shortcomings in occupational safety and GMP (good manufacturing practice) compliance in India's pharmaceutical sector. The industrial accident also exposes the huge gaps in regulatory oversight and enforcement. That can have disastrous consequences because this not only endangers the lives of the workers, but also the lives of residents living near such plants. Besides, poor-quality medicines and formulations pose a serious threat to patient safety and could damage the reputation of India's $65 billion pharmaceutical market. The Sigachi disaster The Sigachi blast is the worst industrial accident in Indian pharma manufacturing in terms of the number of casualties. The unit had not put up the mandatory 'green board", which is supposed to list potentially hazardous material and processes used in the plant, so that emergency services know what they have to deal with, The Hindu reported on 6 July. These details are also supposed to be filed with the fire department, which also wasn't done. And clearly no one bothered to even check. Further, an FIR filed by the family member of a deceased worker claimed that workers had raised concerns about the safety of the equipment—which was allegedly old. Periodic safety inspections of the unit—if they were carried out—should have noted this, if this was indeed the case. A commission of inquiry has been appointed to investigate the accident. But the point is that poor attention to safety and quality is putting at risk India's claim to be the pharmaceutical capital of the world—it's the world's third-largest pharmaceuticals exporter. More importantly, the sector—the fifth-largest contributor to the country's manufacturing gross value added—accounts for a fifth of the world's generic formulations output and three-fifths of global vaccine production. This thriving market is now at risk due to repeated cases of India-made drugs failing to pass regulatory quality control. Chequered track record In May 2024, India's apex drug control authority, Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), put out a list of 50 formulations, used to treat widely prevalent issues ranging from fever to diabetes, which were found to be substandard. That's a pretty routine occurrence. In May 2025, the CDSCO's alert listed 128 formulations as being not of standard quality, while two more were found to be fake. Mind you, only around 3 % of samples are tested, because the state drug control laboratories are severely underfunded, understaffed, and underequipped. In fact, overseas regulators, particularly the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) have been far more diligent in inspections and evaluations, although the FDA's actions are confined only to those units that manufacture drugs exported to the US. But that is not an inconsiderable number. India has the largest number of USFDA-approved plants worldwide, excluding the US, at 499. The US has 530 such plants, while Europe has 416. A June 2025 analysis by CARE Ratings found the same troubling issues, which have dogged Indian pharma manufacturing over the years. According to the report, between 2022 and 2025, 33 warning letters were issued to Indian pharma companies. The main reasons included failure to maintain quality and purity (24%), lack of data documentation and rigour (21%),, and unsanitary/unhygienic conditions at the facilities. There were also multiple incidents of regulatory non-compliance, including failure to properly test raw material and failure to use globally validated analytical methods. Perhaps, the most sensational case was of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, which admitted to seven felony counts, including selling adulterated drugs, not reporting that its drugs failed to meet standards, and intentionally lying to the authorities. Ranbaxy, then India's largest generics manufacturer, was forced to pay $500 million in fines and eventually was forced to sell out to a Japanese pharma company. A national priority Nearly two decades on, similar incidents are cropping up with alarming regularity, pointing to systemic failures that need to be addressed with urgency. These include a chronically under-resourced regulatory system, lack of adequate infrastructure and technical knowledge among regulators, endemic corruption, and weak enforcement of existing rules and laws. Part of the problem stems from the industry's fragmented nature. Due to policy and licensing issues, most of India's 10,000-odd pharma manufacturing plants fall in the MSME space. They lack the capital to adequately invest in technology, GMP compliance, and worker training. Most of the workers killed in the Sigachi incident, for instance, were poor migrant workers from Bihar. India needs to urgently address these systemic issues—particularly in view of China's strides in this sector—if it is not to lose its preeminent place in the global pharma sector. It must be a national priority where both states and the Centre work in tandem to adequately support the regulatory structure—in terms of money, human, and technical resources.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Apple harvests record iPhone output from its India orchard
New Delhi: Apple achieved the fastest ramp-up in iPhone production and exports from India in the first half of 2025 ever since it started smartphone assembly in the country in 2017, in an attempt to diversify global production amid threat of higher US tariffs on Chinese imports. iPhone production surged 53% on-year during the January to June period, reaching 23.9 million units, according to market researcher Canalys. Volumes peaked in March when the company rushed to export the majority of India-made units to the US to avoid paying potential higher tariffs from April. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category PGDM Data Analytics others Finance MCA Product Management Operations Management Others Data Science Management MBA Artificial Intelligence Data Science Healthcare Design Thinking Leadership Digital Marketing Technology CXO Public Policy Cybersecurity healthcare Degree Project Management Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis & Decision Making Quantitative & Analytical Skills Organizational Management & Leadership Innovation & Entrepreneurship Duration: 24 Months IMI Delhi Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Online) Starts on Sep 1, 2024 Get Details The Donald Trump administration later declared a 90-day pause on imposing reciprocal tariffs for most of its trading partners till July 9, which has since been extended to August 1. For India, the US has proposed a 26% tariff. Both countries are currently in talks to finalise a trade deal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo Another research firm Cybermedia Research (CMR) said iPhone export volumes touched 22.88 million units in H1 2025, from 15.05 million a year earlier, a 52% increase. In value terms, Apple exported $22.56 billion worth of iPhones from India in H1 2025, compared to $14.71 billion a year earlier, CMR said. Live Events As per Canalys, iPhone production in the first half of this calendar year crossed 30 million units including exports and for the Indian market. Production is expected to cross 42 million units achieved in 2024 by this year-end, it said. PhillipCapital said iPhone overall production crossed '94,643 crore in H1 2025, as compared to '57,328 crore in H1 2024, and '1,38,200 crore in 2024. Production, after peaking in March ('19,630 crore), slowed to '11,267 crore, still higher than '9,808 crore achieved in June 2024. Government officials said Apple's growth also underpins enhanced domestic value addition, ranging from 15-20% depending on the iPhone model. "The sharp rise in iPhone exports in H1 2025 highlights India's rapid emergence as a leading global manufacturing and export hub for Apple. This double-digit growth in both volume and value is emblematic of the success of India's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes and Apple's ongoing successful supply chain diversification," said Prabhu Ram, VP- Industry Research Group, CMR. Foxconn (Hon Hai) and Tata Electronics are the leading manufacturers of iPhones in India, after Tata Electronics took over operations of Wistron and Pegatron plants in the country. In H1 2025, Foxconn led with over half the volume of iPhone exports, but Tata Electronics is fast catching up, contributing 4 out of every 10 iPhones exported from India, Canalys said. "This shift reflects improving yield rates, line maturity, and Apple's growing confidence in India as a core manufacturing base," said Sanyam Chaurasia, analyst, Canalys. Apple is now planning to undertake simultaneous day-one manufacturing of the upcoming iPhone 17 in China and India, which is due for launch in September. ET reported July 12 that components for the iPhone 17, albeit in small quantities, have started arriving at the Foxconn plant in Tamil Nadu, indicating the start of trial production of the upcoming iPhones. "While not officially confirmed, the volume and type of these imports make it highly likely that trial production or early-stage assembly has commenced, months ahead of Apple's typical September launch window. This would mark a new benchmark with the earliest ever flagship ramp-up from India," Chaurasia said.
Economic Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Tariff impact: Samsung to up India Play
Synopsis Samsung Electronics is planning to diversify its smartphone production, shifting some manufacturing from Vietnam to India and other countries to serve the US market. This strategic move aims to mitigate the potential impact of tariffs on goods imported from Vietnam. Samsung currently caters to the majority of the US demand from Vietnam. However, it has started shipping limited quantities to the US from India New York: South Korea's Samsung Electronics is planning to shift smartphone production to multiple countries, including India, from Vietnam for exports to the US, in an effort to offset the impact of impending tariffs."We are ready to produce for the US in multiple factories, including India," said Won-Joon Choi, president & chief operating officer of Mobile eXperience business and head of R&D office at Samsung Electronics. "What we have done is to diversify our factories for the products that we're going to ship to the US."Samsung currently caters to the majority of the US demand from Vietnam while India-made phones are exported to non-US markets, people aware of the details said. However, Samsung has started shipping limited smartphone quantities to the US from India amid the evolving geopolitical per industry estimates, Samsung can manufacture 70 million phones annually in India and the capacity can be further expanded rapidly. It currently produces about 45 million smartphones in the reported earlier about Samsung exporting more than ₹30,000 crore ($3.5 billion) worth of smartphones from India in FY25, compared to an estimated $35 billion from Vietnam, with the US accounting for $10 billion. "A major part of this ($10 billion) could now be shifted to India, depending on the geopolitical developments," said an industry executive, referring to potentially high tariffs that could be levied on Vietnam by the US due to the former's huge trade Donald Trump administration paused reciprocal tariffs imposed on most of its trading partners based on their trade surpluses till July 9. At the time, Vietnam faced 46% tariff, far higher than India's 26%. The deadline has since been extended till August 1 for countries to reach a deal with the US. Like India, Vietnam too is trying to negotiate a trade deal with the had reported in April about Samsung potentially shifting manufacturing to to select journalists after the launch of Samsung's latest flagship devices, Choi said the company would take a call based on the final decision by the Trump administration. "We have already established a system, and we can shift from one to another (country) to respond to the final decision and be more flexible," he said. (The reporter is in the US at the invitation of Samsung)
