It seems as if the much talked about visit of Apple CEO Tim Cook has been fruitful after all.
Apple’s mission Apple Store in India has received a big boost from the Narendra Modi-led govt on Monday. In order to get its Make in India initiative up and running, the ministry has decided to offer an automatic route to foreign investors in the country across different sectors.
The news will come as a big relief for the Cupertino-based company, which is finally warming up to the potential in the Indian market.
While Tim Cook & Co. had opened up to the idea of setting up Apple-owned stores in India, the country’s FDI norms forced them to bide their time. The norms in place define that, if a company wants to set a single brand retail store in India, 30 percent of the material should be locally sourced from within the country.
While Apple applied for the relaxation under new foreign direct investment rules for companies bringing cutting-edge technologies in India, it remains to be seen how the change in the FDI retail norms helps Apple’s cause.
However, Apple’s desires of manufacturing their products in the country are still far from materialising.
Opening up FDI in retail via the supposed ‘automatic route’ could set a precedent for other companies looking to launch single brand retail stores in the country.
Back in May, Xiaomi withdrew its request for exemption from the 30 percent sourcing rule, which they were not granted. It’s quite evident that the current regime sees foreign investment as one of the measures to improve the country’s ailing economy.
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