Apple’s Tim Cook Seeks PM Modi’s Help to Make iPhones in India

Cook talked up importance of India as a market for Apple, with iPhone and revenue from apps.

Tim Cook met with PM Modi.

(Photo: Twitter/Tim Cook)

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday highlighted the economic impact the company is having on India in a meeting with its prime minister as the iPhone maker seeks deeper access to the world's third-largest smartphone market behind the United States and China.

Cook met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a business summit in Washington at a time when Apple Inc is targeting the nascent Indian market as a revenue source after its sales in China slipped.

Also Read: Apple’s Demands on PM Modi to Make in India Are Steep

Apple has asked Indian government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build its iPhone assembly work in the country. It is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through re-sellers.

In his meeting with Modi, Cook disclosed that Apple expected its Indian operations to be run completely from renewable energy within the next six months, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Cook reiterated that Apple had generated 7,40,000 jobs in India through its so-called "app economy" and Indian developers had created nearly 1,00,000 apps for the App Store, the person said.

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Modi talked with Cook and other US corporate leaders ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday.

Also Read: Apple Gets Green Flag From India To Import Handset Parts Tax-Free

Apple, working with contract manufacturer Winstron, began assembling the iPhone SE in Bengaluru last month. Indian authorities have offered Apple tax concessions for the work with the requirement that more local components be used over time.

Apple has not disclosed how much revenue it generates in India but said that sales grew by "strong double digits" in the most recent quarter. With the growing advent of 4G infrastructure in the country, Cook and Co. feel there hasn’t been a better time to focus on India.