Apple has big plans for India, electronic cos bullish about country: Prasad

Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said all electronics companies are bullish on the Indian market and iPhone maker Apple is going to come in the country with big business plans.

Prasad said that during his regime, mobile factories in India have increased from 2 to 268, including component makers for the handsets. The minister said he had a whole-day meeting with global and Indian chief executive officers of the electronics industry on Monday.

"All are gung-ho about India. Even Apple is going to come to India in a big way. Samsung has come. My focus area now is strategic electronics, defence electronics and medical electronics. I would urge leading lights of the industry that this is a promising area of growth," Prasad said while speaking at an AIMA event.

The government on Monday exhorted Apple to expand manufacturing base in India and use the country as an export hub, as it promised to line up fresh incentives and sops to galvanise electronics as well as the phone industry in the coming 2-3 months.

Apple, which works with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron in India, currently makes iPhone 6S and 7 here.

The minister urged the industry leaders present at the AIMA event to engage in the medical electronics business.

"Medical electronics from MRI machines to pathology machines, X-Ray machines, and testing machines -- all have a big future. It is a huge market available. India is a huge market waiting to be tapped. Please join them," Prasad said.