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| Apple is negotiating production of the iPad in India |
Apple intends to participate in a new plan to encourage the export of Indian computer products that are part of government and industry data: it plans to market iPad tablets in the South Asian country.
Last year, the Indian prime minister launched a $ 6.7 billion plan to boost smartphone exports when the prime minister stepped up his efforts to boost electronics manufacturing and create jobs.
Apple has steadily increased iPhone production in India to reduce dependence on Chinese manufacturing and has participated in the program through contract manufacturers.
Three sources closely related to the drafting of the plan told Reuters: The government is now preparing to uncover another incentive to encourage the production of local computer products such as tablets, laptops and servers.
According to the sources, this new performance incentive program offers cashback to manufacturers' exporters with a five-year budget of 70 billion rupees ($ 964.5 million) and is expected to launch in late February.
Apple and other companies are pushing to increase budget spending by 200 billion rupees before finalizing the plan because India lacks the scope and supply chain to manufacture IT products.
Apple's move came when the iPhone seller Vistron resumed operations at a factory in southern India after union protests erupted last year.
The source said: New Delhi is also planning another business plan with a budget of around 500 rupees over five years to encourage local production of wearables (such as smart watches). The plan can be announced within two months.
Apple has assembled most of the iPads in China, but has rapidly diversified production in markets such as India and Vietnam to mitigate the impact of the Sino-US trade war and the coronavirus crisis.
According to Reuters, Foxconn, Apple's largest supplier, built an assembly line for iPad and MacBook laptops in Vietnam late last year.
Apple could assemble an iPad in India earlier this year through one of its existing suppliers in India, although its plan may be delayed as India is cautiously bans offering new tech services to Chinese companies, thus changing BYD Difficult's entry.
"The government is asking Apple to assemble iPads here with two contract manufacturers and non-Chinese companies," a government official said.