In January, Apple had submitted an application to open single-brand retail stores here in India. We’d written an article discussing the event in detail, so if you are hearing this news for the first time, we suggest you catch up by reading the post here.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), under whose jurisdiction the application falls, had been reviewing the proposal for the past two months.
The DIPP found some gaps in the original proposal and asked Apple to fill them in. Consequently, Apple has filed a second application covering the breakpoints with more information.
Interestingly, Apple isn’t the only one who has filed such a request. The DIPP went on record and said that “Xiaomi has also submitted an application to open single-brand retail stores in India”.
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has been gaining a lot of traction in not just emerging markets, but also developed markets like the US and the UK.
Xiaomi, along with OnePlus and Oppo, has been fighting neck to neck to gain market in India. Their tussle hasn’t only been with the local brands such as Micromax and Karbonn, but also with the heavyweights like Samsung and Apple.
If Xiaomi beats Apple in getting the green flag on this deal, it will get a huge head start on Apple. However, Apple also has some advantages going its way, thanks to the Modi-Cook meeting last year.
Most notably, the government could exempt the Cupertino-based company from the mandatory local sourcing norm of 30 per cent as it makes ‘state-of-the-art’ and ‘cutting edge’ technology products.
So things are looking pretty good for Apple. Let’s hope that the cumbersome bureaucracy our country is (in)famous for doesn’t prove to be a hindrance to this exciting venture. Let’s show Apple some achche din, shall we?
Source: IBN Live
