India is the second largest mobile phone market in the world.
In what is looked as a boost for Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has reportedly reached out to the government to explore the possibilities of starting an iPhone manufacturing unit in India.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, the government of India has received a letter from Apple in November, detailing its plans and proposals for commencing a manufacturing unit in India with government provided financial incentives.
There have been earlier reports that Apple has plans to start iPhone manufacturing unit in India as the mobile phone market in the country burgeoned in the last few years to become the second largest in the world, only next to China.
According to the report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign has excited the heads in Apple who were looking for an opportunity to make in-roads into India which has shown a steady increase in the sales of iPhones for the last few years.
Despite the increase in the number of iPhone sales in India, only 2% of the Indian smartphone users buy iPhone, mainly due to the high cost and due to the shortage of Apple Stores.
If Apple starts its iPhone Manufacturing unit in India, there are possibilities that t will start its own retail stores and there could also be a heavy price cut for the iPhone, making it accessible even to the growing middle class.
The Modi government had in last June exempted foreign retailers for 3 years from the requirement that they must source 30% of goods sold locally.
Foxconn, the Chinese company that makes Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads, has a manufacturing facility in southern India.