Apple is in talks with India to explore the possibility of making products locally, according to The Wall Street Journal (via Reuters).

The negotiations come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to boost his 'Make in India' initiative, with Apple eager to make deeper inroads into the world's second largest mobile market.

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In June, Modi ordered his government to exempt foreign retailers for three years from a requirement to locally source 30 percent of goods solid in their stores.

According to The Journal, Apple sent a letter to India's federal government last month, outlining manufacturing plans and asking for financial incentives. Apple and Indian state representatives have yet to comment on the matter.

In September 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Prime Minister Modi to discuss various matters and Cook reportedly responded positively to Modi's invitation to open a manufacturing base in India. Foxconn was previously reported to be looking at the possibility of an expansion into India to produce iPhones and iPads, but Cook's outspoken interest in the possibility was Apple's first public interest in the expansion.

Apple has partnered with e-commerce giant Flipkart to sell the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in India, where the phones launched in October.

Apple does not yet have a license to sell products directly to consumers in India, which has led to buyers going through third-party retail stores to get hold of the company's flagship phones. Apple's iPhones currently account for less than 2 percent of Indian smartphone sales.

Tag: India

Top Rated Comments

macintoshmac Avatar
84 months ago
Believe it or not, but India will be far more stable in terms of long term policies. We as country do not want "world dominance" as against our motivated neighbour. We're inviting manufacturing as a win-win for everybody, jobs for us and lower costs for manufacturers.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGuder Avatar
84 months ago
I guess Tim really wasn't paying attention in that Trump meeting. Huh?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aussiephil Avatar
84 months ago
This is great news considering how unfair the Chinese government is playing at the moment.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fitshaced Avatar
84 months ago
Make India great again.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqueror4u Avatar
84 months ago
If you think the Indian government is any less protectionist or corrupt you are being extremely naive here.
Still India is worlds largest democracy which is better than communist China. if US is turning protectionist why not other countries? There is no easy way to get access to worlds second largest smartphone market. If we see from business perspective it is a great move. R&D costs involved in creating products are going to be shared by more people that will help apple to keep their products competitive in global market.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
84 months ago
This was more obvious than the apple desktop roadmap.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)