Apple wants to expand facility of contract manufacturer in India: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Apple Inc wants to expand its contract manufacturer’s facility in the southern Indian tech hub of Bengaluru, as the iPhone maker seeks a bigger share in one of the world’s biggest smartphone markets. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the federal minister for Electronics and IT said, government officials were in touch with Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers for expanding facilities and setting up new plants. Cupertino, California-based Apple last week **started making iPhone SE** at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron’s plant in Bengaluru. A small batch of locally made iPhones was rolled out initially, meant as a test for the manufacturing facility. A select few local shops were stocking the “Made in India” iPhones since 2 May, and the manufacturing of the devices had been **completed in April itself** . The Indian government has agreed to provide Apple with tax concessions on the import of components to be used in the locally made iPhones. Apple had sought a 15 year tax holiday for all imported components, a demand which was rejected. A panel of ministries instead offered concessions on the components that **could not be manufactured in India** . “Today, almost all the big companies of the world are coming to India because of the sheer pull of India’s market,” **Prasad has said** . With inputs from Agencies