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Tata and Pegatron are reportedly in talks for iPhone assembly in India, the latest effort of the South Asian country to become a major iPhone maker, yet a Chinese expert said India's ambition still has a long way to go and demands it to embrace established industrial cooperation with manufacturing powerhouses like China.

India's Tata Group is in talks with Taiwan island's electronics manufacturing company Pegatron for 20 lines for iPhone assembly in India's Tamil Nadu, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two sources.

India has cut the import duty on a number of mobile phone components to 10 percent from 15 percent, India media outlet the Economic Times reported just one day ago.

Apple in recent years is indeed seeking to move a part of iPhone production from China to India, but the attempt has not been a smooth process due to a series of frustrations encountered in Indian market, experts said.

Apple started assembling iPhones in India with Wistron as early as in 2017, and later collaborated with Foxconn to promote the development of local manufacturing industry in India in synergy with the Indian government's strategy to boost manufacturing.

Wistron is planning to withdraw from India, and its iPhone manufacturing facilities in Karnataka will be taken over by Tata Electronics, India media Business Today reported in May 2023.

Despite hype about the shift of iPhone manufacturing, China is still iPhone's largest market, largest manufacturer and a major component producer, Liu Xiaoxue, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

The industry chain division of labor centered around China has already developed to a high degree. If India wants to enhance its iPhone manufacturing, it needs to participate within existing supply chain cooperation, Liu said.

It will be a feasible and beneficial strategy for India to adopt industrial policies that will help it secure a favorable position in existing industry chain cooperation, Liu added.