"Watch Out, China": Union Minister To NDTV On Apple's Bullish India Plans
NDTV
"I tell you, it is the highlight of my life to be sitting in this position, to hear these big guys come from all over the world and say that India is deeply impressive," Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tim Cook and others
India will gallop in electronics manufacturing and pull a major chunk of the sector away from China, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told NDTV in an interview, two days after Apple CEO Tim Cook personally opened the company's first retail store in India. The minister said China will have to "watch out" as India is on the path to becoming a giant in manufacturing.
Tim Cook's move underscored the US tech titan's increasing focus on India as a key sales market and alternative manufacturing hub to China.
"One of the great things about being in this job is to enjoy the feedback from people like Tim Cook and Pat Gelsinger (Intel CEO) and all the big leaders of the technology world come to India and honestly say, 'We are so impressed with what India is doing'," Mr Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, told NDTV.
Apple is betting big on India - home to the second-highest number of smartphone users in the world, after China - with a second store opened in Delhi today. The world's biggest company in terms of market value is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in India as it seeks to diversify its supply chain away from a heavy dependence on neighbouring China.