Okay, let’s get one thing straight. The only way you will get an ‘affordable’ iPhone in India is if it’s manufactured here.
Though the idea sounds far fetched, it could be a reality in the coming days as the American tech giants’s Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron is close to ‘landing’ a land deal in India’s tech hub, Bengaluru, to setup its assembly unit.
According to reports, the company is likely to invest about $157 million to develop the site.
Wistron’s ancillary unit, ICT Service Management Solutions, that’s responsible for assembling Apple’s low-cost iPhone SE in India, has been on the hunt for a suitable location for a long time. A location rumoured to be close to 100 acres in area.
Also Read: Awaiting Apple’s iPhone Make in India Proposal: Suresh Prabhu
Some of Wistron’s global executives were in India a couple of weeks ago to strike a deal with government officials in Karnataka.
The Apple iPhone 6s is a hot selling product in India and is a much cheaper option than the recently launched iPhone 8 series. The primary aspects of this move is to cut cost and diversifying Apple’s product range in India.
The recent hike in the duty for imported phone parts and smartphones means that Apple really needs to speed up the process as soon as possible.
Also Read: Budget 2018: Imported Mobile Phones and TVs to Cost More
It’s been long that Apple has been looking for tax breaks and incentives from the Indian government to expand operations in the country, though there haven’t been any exceptions made for the American company.
ICT recently acquired federal approval to import Chinese machinery into India to be used to set up fresh assembly lines for the iPhones.
Setting up local assembly units in India will enable Apple get much cheaper labour in India compared to its Chinese contractor Foxconn, which makes a bulk of iPhones and iPads.
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