SAN JOSE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Apple to set up a manufacturing base in India and its CEO Tim Cook responded positively, officials said here Sunday.
“The Prime Minister (in his meeting with Cook) said he would like Apple to start manufacturing in India. He mentioned the huge opportunities India offered,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesman Vikas Swarup told reporters. Foxconn, which is Apple’s largest manufacturer, has already decided to set up a manufacturing base in India, he noted.
“Cook responded positively. I think India does fit into his long term plans. He particularly was interested in the whole App development economy, which he said, could be a very very important factor for entrepreneurship where individual app developers can just become part of the app universe,” he said. There was also discussion on Apple Pay, how this can be part of Jan Dhan Yojana for instance and other such initiatives, Swarup said.
During the meeting, Cook said India has a very special place in the heart of every Apple employee for the simple reason that its co-founder Steve Jobs went to India when he was a young man for inspiration. It was what he saw in India that inspired him to launch Apple. Cook expressed his desire to be partner of the Digital India initiative, which he thought was a transformative initiative, which could be a real game-changer in India. In a statement, Cook said Apple has been operating in India for 20 years. “We are fortunate to have many passionate customers along with a fast-growing developer community, and we’re investing to expand our operations throughout the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, intending to become a partner in the ambitious Digital India programme, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said his company will take low-cost broadband technology to some five lakh villages across the country. Speaking at a dinner hosted in honour of the PM, he said, “We believe lost-cost broadband connectivity coupled with the scale of cloud computing intelligence that can be harnessed from data can help drive creativity, efficiency and productivity.