Apple CEO Tim Cook says he will schedule a meeting with Prime Minister Modi amid India expansion plans

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook will meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Deputy IT Minister as part of his visit to inaugurate the iPhone maker’s first retail store in the country this week, said people familiar with the plans.

Cook’s visit to open the company’s first official retail outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi this week underscores Apple’s growing ambitions for India, where, despite a market share of just 3%, the company has expanded iPhone assembly through contract manufacturers, and also boosted its exports.

Cook will meet Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, the two sources, including an Indian government official, said.

One of the sources added that the Apple chief will also meet India’s Deputy IT Minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Modi’s office declined to comment, while Apple and the IT ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sources did not give details, but Cook’s meetings come as Apple increasingly focuses on India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market.

About $9 billion (roughly Rs. 738 Crore) worth of smartphones were exported from India between April 2022 and February this year and iPhones accounted for more than 50% of that, according to data from the India Cellular and Electronics Association. .

Apple opened its first store in Mumbai on Monday, but only for a private event where bloggers and tech analysts reviewed the store’s design and layout. It will open to the public from Tuesday, while a second store will be inaugurated in a mall in New Delhi on Thursday.

Until now, Apple sold its products in India through resellers or e-commerce sites such as Amazon.

The Mumbai store is located in the premier Reliance Jio World Drive mall, home to luxury clothing and jewelry brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Swarovski. It is 20,800 square feet, much larger than the planned outlet in Delhi, according to local registration documents.

In India, iPhones are assembled by three of Apple’s contractors – Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron Apple also plans to assemble iPads and AirPods in India.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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