Taking the ‘Make in India' route the Apple is finally going to make its iPhones in India, in the city of Bengaluru from April. It is confirmed now; Apple is going to make its iPhones in India, in the city of Bengaluru from April. Taking the ‘Make in India' route the company is finally moving closer to iPhone assembly in the country. Karnataka said that it welcomed a proposal from Apple to begin initial manufacturing operations in the state, in a sign the tech company is slowly moving forward with plans to assemble iPhones in the country. The Karnataka Government issued a press release notifying of the same. However, Apple has still not commented on the issue.
“Apple's representatives led by Ms. Priya Balasubramaniam, VP iPhone operations, Mr. Ali Khanafer (Head, Government Affairs), Mr.Dheeraj Chugh (Director, iphone operations) and Mr. Priyesh Povanna (Country Counsel) met with Ministers and officials of Government of Karnataka and had positive discussions about the initiatives in manufacturing and possible collaborations with state Government in other areas,” said a statement from state government.
The press release adds: “Apple's intentions to manufacture in Bengaluru will foster cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally. The Government of Karnataka is committed to new initiatives in any sector for manufacturing and will provide a conducive environment for investment.”
The plant, according to reports, will be set up by Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron, at Peenya in Bangalore. Apple has reportedly been discussing the plausibility of making the iPhones in the country, with the government, with an aim to make inroads in the South Asian market.
Tim Cook considers India a big market and visited India in May 2016 when he met PM Narendra Modi and other celebrities. Cook had said that there was a rise in revenues in India. The Cupertino giant currently sells its devices through Indian distribution companies and retailers.
Currently, the assembling of these devices is done mainly by Foxconn Tech Group in China. However, other big rivals like Samsung and even China's Xiaomi have been assembling in India for some time.
This move will give a big boost in the sales of its devices, especially iPhones which still have not made much of a mark in a big smartphone market like India. The company had also in January reportedly sought permission from the government to open its stores. In June, PM Modi-led government eased the FDI restrictions in many sectors, where it said that single brand retailers like Apple are allowed to open stores but they have to purchase a minimum of 30 percent of manufacturing materials from vendors in India after a period of three years which can be difficult of Apple as there are not many manufacturers in India.
