Indian district officials on Monday surveyed farmland surrounding Tata Electronics’ iPhone component factory in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, following a state pollution board warning that wastewater discharge from the plant had contaminated groundwater in nearby wells.
The move adds fresh scrutiny to Apple’s key supplier as it ramps up iPhone production in India, with local farmers reporting foul-smelling water and reduced crop yields. Tata maintains it is compliant with environmental norms.
Reuters:
Tata Electronics is central to Apple’s push to diversify iPhone making beyond China. The plant facing scrutiny is located in Hosur, 25 miles south of tech hub Bengaluru, and makes back panels and other components for iPhones.
The southern Tamil Nadu state’s pollution body has warned Tata of a forced shutdown unless it explains why the body’s inspections between December 2025 and May 2026 found that wastewater discharge was affecting open wells in adjacent agricultural lands, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Tata says its independent analysis determined it was in compliance with regulatory norms and it was “committed to responsible business practices and protection of the environment and local communities.”
One farmer near the Tata plant, P. Pushparaj, told Reuters on Monday he had filed a complaint with authorities after observing discharge from the plant was “dirty and had a bad smell”, adding he suspected it affected his crops. “We continued our agriculture, but we didn’t get proper yields,” he said.
The state pollution control body has said Tata discharged wastewater into a rainwater harvesting pond inside its facility and that the pond overflowed to contaminate “groundwater in the open wells located in the adjacent agricultural lands”.
MacDailyNews Take: We expect that is there is an issue, Apple will work closely with Tata to rectify it.
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