New Delhi, July 4 -- iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of the flagship smartphone of Apple in India, has reportedly been asking its Chinese workers in the south Asian country to return to their homes.

Foxconn Technology Group has asked hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians to return home from its iPhone factories in India, dealing a blow to Apple Inc.’s manufacturing push in the South Asian country.

The move comes months after officials in Beijing verbally encouraged regulatory agencies and local governments to limit technology transfers and export of equipment to India and Southeast Asia