The news regarding Apple entering India for setting up a manufacturing unit seems to be picking pace now. In a report by ET, a senior government official disclosed that Apple's proposal might be given consideration if the Cupertino Giant promises to invest huge funds in India and also to create job opportunities.
Indian government seeks a sound investment plan from Apple for allowing it to enter the manufacturing arena in India. However, the government will not take any step that shall peril the momentum of mobile production in the country. Commenting on Apple's proposal, an anonymous government official said to ET,“They have just sent it (the request). We will examine it. There are two things: First, there are almost 40 mobile manufacturing units (in India). We don’t want to disturb them. Second, we will have to see how much volume they will put out, how many jobs they will create,”
Apple is reportedly seeking tax and labelling relaxations from the Indian government. The company wants to avoid putting up product-related information directly on its devices as it compromises with the design language. Regarding tax incentives, the Indian government is reviewing the proposal, but it has its own set of pre-requisites that Apple has got to address beforehand.
In November, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) furthered Apple’s application to the Department of Revenue and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Presently, Apple manufactures its products in six nations, among which China is its major production partner. Talking about Apple's production unit in China, the government official said,“Their factory in China gives jobs to 10 lakh people. If they say they will put five factories in India and give employment to 10 lakh people or say we will give you Rs 5,000 crore of excise duty, we may think about it (Apple’s demands),”
This is not the first time when Apple's proposal for setting up business in India is under review by the government. The government had rejected Apple's earlier proposal for setting up its own retail outlets and selling refurbished phones in India.
Various reports also tip that Apple is considering Bangalore to be its assembling hub. If the company's proposal gets accepted by the Indian government then it might begin assembling operations in Bangalore's industrial hub - Peenya by April.
