Apple decides to take the plunge by making India alternative exports hub

Making the country an alternative export hub to China makes sense for the US giant but competition in the domestic market could be intense

There is good news from Apple Inc. Nearly three years after it kicked off its discussions with the government, the Cupertino, California-based company has decided to take the plunge by making India an alternative global hub for exports, apart from China.

To achieve that, Apple has roped in three of its global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) vendors — Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron — to sign on for the flagship productivity-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. The scheme offers incentives between 4 and 6 per cent on the production value of phones manufactured in India for five years and mostly exported, provided they