Govt wants Apple unit in India

 Ahead of Apple executives’ arrival in India to discuss proposals to set up its plant in India, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday indicated that the government expects the global electronic giant to set up its manufacturing unit in the country.

“We want Apple to set up its manufacturing plant in India. We want Apple to submit its structured proposal and the government will consider it,” Prasad told reporters after the Union Cabinet meeting. A high-level team from Apple is expected visit to India on January 25, and make its presentation to the government. Earlier the company had sought a number of incentives and concessions including a 15-year holiday on customs duty and relaxed labelling norms to set up its plant in India.

It is learnt that Apple plans to set up a manufacturing unit in Bengaluru, where it will assemble its products. When Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged him to set up factories in the country.

A total of 42 mobile manufacturing companies have set up their plants in India in the past two-years, and Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Telangana are emerging as a major hub for electronics manufacturing companies said Prasad.