Apple finally gets green signal to manufacture iPhones in India
After months of back and forth with the Indian government, Apple has finally received the green signal to manufacture iPhones in India. The Karnataka government issued a release welcoming Apple's proposal to manufacture iPhones in India and to "commence initial manufacturing operations" in the state. Bengaluru is finalized as the assembling location.
The approval comes soon after Apple's team met government officials to discuss iPhone manufacturing in the country in January.
As per the release, signed by Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge, said Apple’s plans 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”.
However the release did not mention a timeline for the start on iPhone manufacturing in the state. But according to reports, Apple along with Taiwanese OEM, Wistron, will start manufacturing iPhones by end of April. The Apple-Wistron manufacturing facility will be based out of Bengaluru's industrial hub of Peenya.
With the announcement, India becomes the third country globally to assemble iPhones, an indication how important the country is for the world's top technology companies.
By manufacturing iPhones in India, Apple will get incentives and exemption from many taxes and duties on imports, as well as opportunity to start local single brand retail. Moreover, local manufacturing also means, Apple will be able to offer iPhones at the best possible price in the country, compared to the current high price tag.
This is the third good news for Apple this week after the company announced that it sold record 78.3 million iPhones in Q4 2016, and research firms revealed that Apple topped Samsung in Q4, 2016 smartphone sales. Last month the company announced that it shipped record 2.5 million iPhones in India during 2016.
Source
Apple finally gets green signal to manufacture iPhones in India
Reviewed by Kaiser
on
2/03/2017 03:11:00 PM
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