Comments
The maker of the iconic iPhones, Apple Inc has picked Karnataka to manufacture its mobile phones for the domestic market.
The US company has tasked Taiwanese company Wistron to manufacture iPhones at its facility near Bengaluru. Wistron used to manufacture and design for technology major Acer, which was spun off as a separate company in 2000.
The Peenya manufacturing centre will be Apple’s second initiative for the IT capital. In May last year when CEO Tim Cook visited India, he announced setting up of a Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru to support engineering talent and accelerate growth among India’s iOS developer community. The manufacture of the iPhones in the country is expected to considerably reduce the price of the mobile phones which commands a premium in the market.
Priyank Kharge, Karnataka Minister for IT/BT and Tourism, in a statement confirmed the development. “Apple’s intentions to manufacture in Bengaluru is expected to foster cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development in the State, which are critical for India to compete globally,” he said.
Recently, Apple's representatives led by Priya Balasubramaniam, Vice-President iPhone operations; Ali Khanafer, Head, Government Affairs, Dheeraj Chugh Director, iPhone operations and Priyesh Povanna, Country Counsel met with Kharge for manufacturing and other collaborations.
However, Apple has been trying to convince the Central government for some concessions . Apple’s application for exemption from compulsory 30 per cent domestic sourcing norms was rejected by the Finance Ministry last year.
Recently, the inter-ministerial team, led by Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) had told BusinessLine that the Apple team asked for a number of sops including tax concessions, relaxation from conditions such as labelling requirements as well as exemption from the mandatory domestic sourcing norm for one-third of inputs used in their devices.
This also comes on the back of Cook mentioning on an earnings call this week that India is “the place to be” and adding that the technology giant is in discussions on a number of things, including retail stores and fully intend to invest significantly in India. Apple accounts for less than two per cent of shipments in India and is ranked 10th in the list of smartphone sales, according to Counterpoint Research.
Currently, Apple sells its products in India through distributors such as Redington, Ingram Micro, Rashi Peripherals and Bettel.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.